Part 7: Alcohol licensing Section 138: Personal licences: licensing authority powers in relation to convictions
Currently a personal licence may be suspended or forfeited by a court on conviction for a relevant offence (that is, one listed in Schedule 4 to the 2003 Act). This section provides a similar power to licensing authorities, and courts will retain their existing powers.
	When the licensing authority that has granted a personal licence becomes aware that the licence holder has been convicted of a relevant offence, foreign offence or been required to pay an immigration penalty, the licensing authority may revoke the licence or suspend it for a period of up to six months. Section 36 of and Schedule 4 to the Immigration Act 2016 add immigration offences to the list in Schedule 4 to the 2003 Act. The new provisions will apply to convictions received at any time before or after the licence was granted and after the date of commencement.
	The licensing authority may not take action if the licence holder has appealed against the conviction or the sentence imposed in relation to the relevant offence or foreign offence, until the appeal is disposed of. Where an appeal is not lodged, the licensing authority may not take action until the time limit for making an appeal has expired.
	Subsection (3) inserts new section 132A into the 2003 Act which sets out the process which must be undertaken by the licensing authority to suspend or revoke a personal licence. If the licensing authority is considering whether to suspend or revoke a licence, the authority must give notice to the licence holder. This notice must invite the licence holder to make representations about the conviction, any decision of a court in relation to the licence, or any decision by an appellate court if the licence holder has appealed such a decision. The licence holder may also include any other relevant information, for example, about their personal circumstances. The licence holder will have 28 days to make these representations, beginning on the day the notice was issued.
	Before deciding whether to revoke the licence the licensing authority must consider any representations made by the licence holder, any decisions made by a court or appellate court in respect of the personal licence and about which the licensing authority is aware, and any other information which the licensing authority considers relevant.
	If the licensing authority decides not to revoke the licence it must give notice to the chief officer of police that it intends not to do so, and invite the chief officer to make representations about whether the licence should be suspended or revoked, having regard to the prevention of crime. The chief officer may make representations within the period of 14 days from the day the notice was received. Any representations made by the chief officer of police must be taken into account by the licensing authority in deciding whether to suspend or revoke the licence.
	The licensing authority must notify the licence holder and the chief officer of the decision made (even if the police did not make representations). A decision to revoke or suspend the licence does not take effect until the end of the period allowed for appealing the decision (namely 21 days), or if the decision is appealed against, until the appeal is disposed of.
	Subsection (4) amends paragraph 17 of Schedule 5 to the 2003 Act to enable the licence holder to appeal the licensing authority’s decision to a magistrates' court to revoke or suspend their personal licence.
	Section 10 of the 2003 Act provides for a licensing authority to delegate the discharge of its functions to a sub-committee or to a licensing officer. Section 10(4) lists the functions that may not be delegated to a licensing officer. Subsection (2) requires that the decision to revoke or suspend a personal licence may not be delegated to a licensing officer; the decision must be made by the licensing committee or its sub-committee.
	The change will apply from the date of commencement, so that anyone convicted of an offence before the commencement date will not be liable to have his or her personal licence revoked or suspended by the licensing authority on the basis of that conviction.