Alcohol Licensing

The Four Licensing Objectives Explained

Crime and disorder, public safety, public nuisance and the protection of children: what each objective means and how to show you promote it

Quick answer

Every decision a licensing authority makes has to promote the four licensing objectives, and every application, representation, condition and review is framed in their terms. For an operator they are not abstract: they are the four headings under which you describe how you will run the venue in your operating schedule, and the four headings under which a review will examine how you actually ran it. This article takes each objective in turn and sets out the measures licensing officers and the police expect to see.

Every licensing decision must promote the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.
Your operating schedule is a list of measures under each objective; a review is an allegation that one is being undermined.
Measures should match the risk your venue actually presents, from a restaurant's basic controls to a late bar's CCTV, door staff and dispersal policy.

Key takeaways

Every licensing decision must promote the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

Your operating schedule is a list of measures under each objective; a review is an allegation that one is being undermined.

Measures should match the risk your venue actually presents, from a restaurant's basic controls to a late bar's CCTV, door staff and dispersal policy.

Prevention of Crime and Disorder

This covers violence, theft, drug use and dealing, and the disorder that follows drunkenness. The measures authorities expect are proportionate to the venue: CCTV covering entrances and the bar with 31 days' retention, an incident log, a refusals log, SIA door supervisors on specified nights for late venues, a drugs policy, no glass outside after a set hour, and staff trained to refuse service to drunk customers. A restaurant serving wine with dinner needs far less than a 2 am bar; the point is to show you have thought about the risk your venue actually presents.

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Public Safety

Public safety is the physical safety of everyone on the premises: capacity, fire safety, escape routes, first aid, glass and crowd management. Typical measures are a stated maximum occupancy with a means of counting, fire risk assessment and alarm testing, first aiders on shift, polycarbonate or toughened glass for outdoor and late trading, and safe dispersal arrangements at closing. The fire authority is a responsible authority and can make representations, so this objective is where fire safety compliance and licensing meet.

Prevention of Public Nuisance

Nuisance is noise, light, litter and anti-social behaviour affecting neighbours, and it is the objective that generates the most resident objections. Measures include keeping doors and windows closed when music is playing, a noise limiter set with the environmental health officer, no external speakers after a set time, signage asking customers to leave quietly, a dispersal policy, controls on when bottles go into outside bins, and litter patrols. A venue with residential neighbours should expect its hours and its outdoor area to be scrutinised under this heading.

Protection of Children from Harm

This objective covers underage sales, children being present where they should not be, and exposure to adult entertainment or gambling. The measures are Challenge 25 with an approved ID list, a refusals log, staff training on age verification, restrictions on unaccompanied children after a set time, and rules about children in areas with gaming machines or adult entertainment. Test purchasing by trading standards is the enforcement tool, and two failed test purchases in three months is the persistent selling offence.

What to do next

Write two measures per objective on one page

Eight lines that describe how the venue is run. It becomes the staff briefing, the operating schedule and the first document you produce at a review.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mistake

Copying another venue's operating schedule

Instead

Conditions you offered become conditions on your licence. A door supervision condition copied from a nightclub binds a wine bar that never needed it.

Frequently asked questions

What are the four licensing objectives?

The prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm, as set out in section 4 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Is promoting health a licensing objective?

Not in England and Wales. Scotland has a fifth objective, protecting and improving public health. Proposals to add it in England have not been adopted.

Alcohol Licensing