Schedule 4 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 amends the Licensing Act 2003 to give the Secretary of State the power to impose up to nine mandatory licensing conditions in relation to the supply of alcohol under licence.

These new mandatory licensing conditions apply to all existing and future premises licences which authorise the supply of alcohol, and come into force from 6th April 2010 (with two further conditions coming into force on 1st October 2010).

These conditions override any conditions already included in a premises licence or club premises certificate, so far as they are identical to the existing conditions or inconsistent with, and more onerous than, the existing conditions.

The new conditions will apply to every licence and certificate authorising the sale and supply of alcohol from the point they come into force. As the new conditions are mandatory licensing conditions, any breaches will be treated in the same way as breaches of existing conditions.

Failure to comply with any conditions attached to a licence or certificate is a criminal offence, which on conviction would be punishable by a fine of up to £20,000 or up to six months imprisonment or both.

In most cases, we would expect there to be a review of those premises. As these new conditions are mandatory and apply across England and Wales, we would expect Licensing Authorities to take any breach seriously.

From 6th April 2010 the new conditions will:

• Ban Irresponsible Promotions

• Ban the dispensing of alcohol directly into the mouth; and

• Ensure that customers have access to free tap water so that they can space out their drinks and not get too intoxicated too quickly.

From 1st October 2010, these conditions will also:

• Require an age verification policy to be in place to prevent underage sales; and

• Ensure that customers have the opportunity to choose small measures of beers, ciders, spirits and wine.