Commentary on Parts Part 3 – Premises Licences Section 33 – Transfer on application of licence holder
73.Subsection (1) provides that the holder of a premises licence may apply for the transfer of the licence to another person.
74.Subsection (4) provides that the Licensing Board must notify the application to the chief constable for its area and subsection (5) provides that the chief constable must respond within 21 days by giving one of the notices required by subsection (6). The statutory content of these notices is set out in subsection (6) and covers relevant and foreign offences.
75.Subsection (7) establishes that where the chief constable notifies the Licensing Board that the person(s) to whom the licence is proposed to be transferred (or a connected person) has been convicted of a relevant or foreign offence then the chief constable may also make a recommendation for refusal of the transfer application.
76.Subsections (8), (9) and (10) establish the procedure that Licensing Boards must adopt on receipt of the chief constable’s notice. Where the notice reports that no conviction is found the transfer must be granted. Where the notice reports a conviction the Board is under a duty to hold a hearing but the only ground on which the transfer application may be refused is that it is necessary to do so for the purposes of the crime prevention objective. Otherwise the application must be granted.