Decision Maker: Licensing & General Purposes Committee

Outcome: For Determination

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: August 27, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Notification of decision following Licensing & General Purposes Committee hearing to consider the review of a personal licence under section 132A of the Licensing Act 2003   PERSONAL LICENCE HOLDER: Personal Licence (1)    TAKE NOTICE THAT following a hearing before the Licensing & General Purposes Committee (the “Licensing Committee” or “Committee”),   ON27 August 2025, the London Borough of Hounslow, as the Licensing Authority in which the personal licence was granted   RESOLVED that:   ·        the Personal Licence Holder’s personal licence be REVOKED in line with Section 132A(3) of the Licensing Act 2003.   REASONS:   1)     The Licensing Committee convened to determine a review of the personal Licence of Personal Licence Holder (1) brought by the Local Authority under s.132A Licensing Act 2003 (“the Act”) following notification of a relevant offence under Schedule 4 of the Act.   2)     A copy of the application was attached to pages 6 to 15 of the agenda pack. As outlined in the publication, by virtue of paragraph(s) 1, 2, 6a of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, part of the agenda report relating to this application were restricted from publication.   3)     The Personal Licence Holder was granted a Personal Licence by Hounslow Council in 2017. Subsequent to the grant, the Personal Licence Holder was convicted in 2024 at Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates' Court contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, of driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, more specifically, with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit, namely 59 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath.   4)     The Licensing Committee meeting was held in person. In accordance with paragraph 11 of Section 4B (Committee Procedure Rules) of the Hounslow Constitution, the Chair, having noted that the meeting was not quorate at the published start time, decided to adjourn the meeting for 70 minutes. Once quorate, the Committee consisted of four members. All four members of the Licensing Committee were in attendance throughout the hearing, and during deliberation, which took place separately in a closed session.   5)     The Committee was advised of the provisions of section 132A of the Act at the outset, and the Personal Licence Holder’s duty to notify the Licensing Authority of any convictions under section 132 of the Act. Section 132 of the Act further states that it is the personal licence holder’s duty to notify the licensing authority as soon as reasonably practicable, by giving notice containing details of the nature and date of the conviction and any sentence imposed on him in respect of it. The Licensing Authority may choose to take no action, to revoke a personal license or suspend a personal licence for a period not exceeding six months, where they have been notified that a personal licence holder has committed a relevant offence. The offence must be a relevant offence as set out in Schedule 4 of the Act.   6)     The Licensing Committee carefully considered all the relevant information including:   ·        Written and Oral representations by all the parties ·        The Licensing Act 2003 and the steps appropriate to promotethe Licensing Objectives ·        The guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (“the Statutory Guidance”) ·        Hounslow Council’s licensing policy including the Council’s Cumulative Impact Policy 2020 – 2025 (“the Council’s Policy”) ·        The Human Rights Act 1998   Preliminary Issues:   7)     The Personal Licence Holder was not in attendance and therefore the first consideration for the Committee was to decide whether to adjourn the hearing to provide a further opportunity for the Personal Licence Holder to attend.   8)     The Committee is mindful that human rights law applies to the conduct of licensing committee hearings, in particular article 6 regarding the right to a fair hearing. The Committee would want to give the Personal Licence Holder his right to a fair hearing, especially where the outcome of the same could result in action being taken against his personal licence that could result in a suspension of up to 6 months or even revocation.   9)     The Committee considered adjourning the hearing to provide the Personal Licence Holder with a further and final opportunity to attend a hearing to determine the application, however, they were aware that the Licence Holder had been notified firstly of the consideration to suspend or revoke by letter and then notified of the originally scheduled hearing of 21 August 2025 and the current hearing without response. The Personal Lincence Holder had not submitted any representations, nor had he provided any indication that he would be attending the hearing. The current hearing had also been adjourned by 70 minutes, and there was no indication of any attendance by the Personal Licence Holder.   10) The Committee also noted that the legislation did not specifically require a hearing to consider a review of a personal licence and that the Personal Licence Holder could have made submissions in writing. Given the lack of correspondence, there was also no suggestion that even if adjourned, the Personal Licence Holder would attend any future hearing. Having taken into account the agenda report, the Act, the Council’s Policy, Statutory guidance, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Human Rights Act, and the Equality Act 2010, the Committee decided to proceed in the absence of the Personal Licence Holder.   Submissions:   11) Following the introduction of the application by the Licensing Officer, the Regulatory Manager of the Licensing Authority gave evidence in respect of the application brought on behalf of the Licensing Authority. The Regulatory Manager explained that there is a duty upon the Licence Holder to notify the court at the time of his conviction that he holds a personal licence under the Act, upon which the court will then relay the information to the relevant Licensing Authority. In this instance, the Regulatory Manager explained that they were not notified by the court but instead by Westmorland and Furness Council and that, as far as they could ascertain, the Licence Holder had not informed the court that he held a personal licence. In addition, where the court is not informed, there is still a duty on the personal licence holder to notify the Local Authority of the conviction, and again, there were no such records of notification by the Personal Licence Holder.   12) The Regulatory Manager obtained a copy of the memorandum of conviction from the court and stated that under Section 132A of the Act, the Licensing Authority has a discretionary power to act. In this regard and in accordance with the legislation, the Licensing Authority wrote to the Personal Licence Holder giving 28 days’ notice that the Licensing Authority was considering whether to suspend their licence (for a period not exceeding six months) or to revoke the licence. The Notice also gave the Personal Licence Holder the opportunity to make representations in relation to this. He confirmed the letter had been sent by post and that he had checked with the post team to confirm whether there had been any returned post in this regard, in which they confirmed to him there had not been. A further letter was sent out by the Licensing team notifying the Licence Holder of the original hearing date of 21 August 2025, which was subsequently cancelled and rescheduled for administrative reasons, followed by a further email notifying the Licence Holder of the new hearing date (being 27 August 2025). The Regulatory Manager confirmed that, from their perspective, all procedures under legislation and the Statutory Guidance had been complied with.   13) In questions posed by the Committee, the Regulatory Manager confirmed there had not been any response to any of their correspondence.   14) The Committee also queried whether any action had been taken against any premises licence to which the Licence Holder may be associated. The Regulatory Manager stated that they were aware that the Licence Holder was a Designated Premises Supervisor for two premises outside of the borough and that any action in relation to a premises licence would be separate and not concerned with this application. He also confirmed that the premises in question had been notified of today’s hearing and that they would also be informed of the outcome of the same.   15) The Regulatory Manager considered that it was a matter for the Licensing Committee to decide what action to take, if any, when questioned about what he thought was the most appropriate action to take in the circumstances. He was aware that significant time had elapsed since the conviction (given it was in February 2024), although this was partly delayed in attempts to obtain a copy of the memorandum of conviction.   16) The Committee queried what measures would prevent the Licence Holder from applying in another borough for a personal licence if they were minded to revoke the personal licence. The Regulatory Manager confirmed that whilst there is not a central information share point for the boroughs, the conviction would show up on the Licence Holder’s criminal record check and is expected to be picked up upon application.    DECISION:   17) Taking all of the submissions and evidence into account, the Licensing Committee RESOLVED to revoke the Personal Licence.   18) The Committee was satisfied that the Personal Licence holder had committed a relevant offenceunder Schedule 4 of the Act.    19)Furthermore, it was noted by the Committee that following his conviction, the Personal Licence holder failed to both notify the court under section 128 of the Act and to notify the Licensing Authority of his conviction as required by section 132 of the Act, which in itself are offences. The Committee were disappointed by the Licence Holder’s failure to respond to the notice and to attend the hearing despite being made aware of the same.   20) Noting that the personal licence plays an important role in the sale of alcohol and in acting as a Designated Premises Supervisor, the Committee considered that the conviction was a serious offence and in contradiction of the role required by personal licence holders of the upkeep and promotion of the licensing objectives. The Committee was therefore of the view that the Personal Licence Holder ought to have exercised better judgment and that the offence demonstrated his unsuitability to hold a personal licence.    Rights of Appeal:   21) There is a right to appeal to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of receiving this written decision notice.