Part 7: Alcohol licensing Section 137: Summary reviews of premises licences: review of interim steps
Section 53A of the 2003 Act provides for the police to make an application for a summary review of a premises licence, if the relevant premises are associated with serious crime or serious disorder. It provides that the licensing authority (that is, the local district or unitary council) must consider the application within 48 hours and impose 'interim steps' (temporary conditions) if necessary. Subsection (3) of section 53B sets out the interim steps which the licensing authority is required to consider taking, namely: the modification of the conditions of the premises licence (for example, a restriction on the hours during which alcohol can be sold); the exclusion of the sale of alcohol from the scope of the licence; the removal of the designated premises supervisor from the licence; or the suspension of the licence.
	Section 53A requires the review of the premises licence to take place within 28 days of receipt of the application, the review takes the form of a hearing at which the licensing authority will determine what action should be taken on a permanent basis. Section 53C sets out the actions the licensing authority is required to consider taking in order to promote the licensing objectives: the exclusion of a licensable activity from the scope of the licence; the removal of the designated premises supervisor from the licence; the suspension of the licence for a period not exceeding three months; or the revocation of the licence.
	The decision made at the review hearing does not take effect until the expiry of the time limit for appealing (21 days) (during which the decision may be appealed by the licensee or the police to a magistrates' court), or until an appeal is disposed of. There is currently an ambiguity in the 2003 Act about whether the interim steps remain in place after the review hearing, and whether they can be withdrawn or amended by the licensing authority. The amendments made by this section will address the ambiguity about what happens to the interim steps between the review hearing and the review decision coming into effect.
	Subsection (5) inserts a new section 53D to require the licensing authority, at the review hearing, to review any interim steps that have been taken. The licensing authority must consider whether the interim steps are appropriate for the promotion of the crime prevention objective, consider any relevant representations, and determine whether to withdraw or modify the steps taken. For example, there may have been a change in circumstances or further evidence provided at the hearing which means that the interim steps originally imposed are no longer necessary for the period of time between the review hearing and the review decision coming into effect.
	Subsection (7) amends Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the 2003 Act to provide for an appeal to be made by the police or licensee, against the decision regarding the interim steps, taken at the review hearing. This appeal must be heard within 28 days.
	Upon commencement the changes will apply to all applications for a summary review which have been received by the licensing authority but which have not yet reached the review hearing stage.