LICENCES

ALCOHOL & PREMISES LICENCING
If your event has regulated entertainment or a supply of alcohol you will need to apply for a licence from your Local Authority. You may encounter a waiting period following your application, so ensure that you leave plenty of time for your application to be approved. You may be asked for health and safety documentation including risk assessments to support your application for a licence.

General guidance on the Licensing Act 2003 on www.culture.gov.uk website.

Your event will need one of the following:
1.      Temporary Events Notice (TEN);
2.      Premises Licence; or a
3.      Personal Licence.

Temporary Events Notice (TEN)
TENs can be used to authorise relatively small-scale ad hoc events held in or on any premises involving no more than 499 people at any one time. The premises user must, no later than 10 working days before the day on which the event is to start, give duplicate copies of the notice to the relevant licensing authority, together with the fee of £21. A copy of the notice must also be given to the relevant chief officer of police no later than 10 working days before the day on which the event is to start. Anyone aged 18 or over can give a maximum of five TENs per calendar year. Each event covered by a TEN can last up to 96 hours and no more than twelve TENs can be given in respect of any particular premises in any calendar year.

Premises licence
Businesses can apply for a premises licence to authorise all the licensable activities they wish to carry on. This may for example be the case if your event takes place in a public house. 

Personal licence
The licensing of individuals separately from the licensing of premises permits the movement of personal licence holders from one premise to another, allowing greater flexibility. The personal licence relates only to the supply of alcohol under a premises licence. 

Guide to licensing, created by Taunton Deane and South Somerset District Council http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14175

An essential guide into the Licensing Act 2003 aimed at anyone involved in the sale of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment and late night refreshment, from the small village hall to the large city nightclub.

Arts Council England: A simple guide to licensing for circuses and street arts
This guide provides information and advice for people involved in circus and street arts. The document has been divided into four parts to make it quicker to download. These are: the guide (part 1), a sample licence for street arts festival (part 2), a sample license for circus (part 3) and appendices and glossary (part 4). Click here to access the guide. 

MUSIC LICENCE
These days, any involvement in music, such as a live event in front of an audience, comes with legal implications so you need to ensure you have a license for all music that you play as otherwise you may be hit with large fines.

Performing Rights Society
The PRS exists to help businesses and community groups to get access to some of the world's best loved music, while making sure that songwriters, composers and publishers are rightfully rewarded. Music license applications for events and festivals are available through the website: http://www.prs.co.uk