Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill

The Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill was formally introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 19 September 2016. 

Subject to approval by the Assembly at Second Stage, the Bill will then be referred to the Committee for Communities which has responsibility for the Committee Stage of the Bill.

The Committee therefore wishes to hear views from all interested parties in order to assist it with its scrutiny of the Bill.

In summary, the Bill will:

• place restrictions on the advertising of intoxicating liquor in supermarkets and off sales premises;
• introduce occasional additional late opening for certain licensed premises and modest changes to the Easter opening hours for certain licensed premises and registered clubs;
• extend “drinking-up” time for a trial period of one year in licensed premises and registered clubs;
• align intoxicating liquor and entertainment licences in licensed premises allowed late opening;
• remove requirement for children’s certificates in licensed premises and registered clubs;
• permit underage functions in licensed premises and registered clubs provided certain conditions are met;
• require licensed restaurants to display a notice in relation to their licence conditions;
• place a requirement on delivery persons to record details of identification shown (if there is any doubt that the person to whom the alcohol is delivered is not 18 years of age or over);
• permit formal approval for codes of practice on responsible retailing; and
• make some other minor changes to the law affecting private members’ clubs.

I write, on behalf of the Committee, to invite you, if you wish, to make a written submission on behalf of your organisation.

It would be most helpful if you could structure your response to the specific clauses of the Bill and, if appropriate, suggest alternative or additional wording to clauses, which may assist the Committee’s consideration of the need for any amendments to the Bill.

I would be grateful if you could forward any written evidence to the Committee by e-mail (using the MS Word template on our website) to committee.communities@niassembly.gov.uk  by 19 October 2016 at the latest.  Alternatively, you can post written submissions to the address above.

You may wish to note that the Committee has agreed a list of key stakeholders from which it will begin to take oral evidence before the call for written evidence closes.  The Committee will however schedule additional oral evidence sessions, as required, following consideration of written submissions after the call for written evidence closes.