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On the final day of National Licensing Week, Solicitor, Leah Ellison, and Paralegal, Nicola Jordan chat through Temporary Event Notices, covering what a TEN is, the restrictions on a TEN and the statutory timeframes and limits you must consider.
Concluding National Licensing Week, Solicitor, Leah Ellison, and Paralegal, Nicola Jordan chat through some of the common questions they are asked when it comes to licensing matters – from premises licence queries and ‘bring your own booze’ (BYOB) to alcohol sales online.
A TEN is a ‘Temporary Event Notice’. A TEN is used in two situations:
Licensable activity means anything that you can be licensed for. The most obvious, and common, is of course the sale of alcohol, but it could be regulated entertainment, indoor sporting events or late night refreshment. Please find more information about licensable activities in our premises licence blog.
So in short, you might need a TEN if you want to do something that requires a licence, but you don’t hold a licence either at all, or for that activity. Please note that TENs are not long term solutions, which is discussed in detail below.
A TEN is not always the most appropriate solution, as there are a number of restrictions.
Firstly, a Temporary Event Notice is just that; temporary. A TEN can’t last for more than 168 hours (or 7 days). TENs can’t be used as a way to carry out licensable activity on a long-term basis.
The other restriction that might mean that a TEN isn’t the right course of action is that the event that the TEN is being used for must have fewer than 499 people at all times. This includes the people running the event or any staff at the event.
This means that a TEN can be a good option for most bars or restaurants or Clubs, who aren’t likely to exceed this sort of capacity, but the person applying for the TEN must factor in and consider the number of people on the premises, including those working.
You also need to be 18 to apply for a TEN.
There are also statutory time frames to consider when serving a TEN.
To validly serve a TEN, you must apply at least 10 clear working days before the event. Clear working days means that the day that the council receives your application does not count and neither does the first day of the event. There must be 10 working days in between.
However, it is possible to apply for a TEN with less notice, and this is known as serving a ‘late TEN’. To do so, you must leave 5 clear working days before the event.
There are restrictions on how many TENs can be applied for. You can get up to 5 TENs a year. If you already have a personal licence to sell alcohol, you can be given up to 50 TENs a year.
For a late TEN the position is slightly different. If you do not hold a personal licence, you can serve up to 2 late TENs per year. If you hold a personal licence, the limit is 10. Late TENs count towards the total number of permitted TENs.
If you submit with too short notice, or exceeding the statutory limits, the TEN will be automatically void.
The four licensing objectives are:
When serving a TEN, you do not need to detail how you will promote the licensing objectives on the proforma. However, it is good practice when planning your event to bare these in mind as the police or environmental health can object to your TEN if they deem it to put those objectives in jeopardy.
If served correctly, and not in breach of statutory time frames or limits, and without objection, a receipted copy of the TEN will be sent to the person serving it. This must be kept at the premises where the event is held and displayed where it can be easily seen. It must be produced for inspection if requested by the responsible authorities.
If you want to discuss a potential TEN, or need help submitting one, please get in touch with our dedicated Licensing team, using the button below.
Martin Jones
As the Head of the Regulatory Department, Martin acts in a wide-range of regulatory crime and professional regulation matters. Martin has built up over 20 years of experience and a wealth of specialist knowledge.
He leads the firm’s cross-departmental alcohol and gaming licensing teams. Additionally Martin manages the teams providing a range of outsourced services to local authorities, including court representation of local authorities Adult and Children’s Services Departments.
Disclaimer: The information on the Hugh James website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. If you would like to ensure the commentary reflects current legislation, case law or best practice, please contact the blog author.
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