Concern Spreads over Licensing
A short report in Thursday’s Guardian appears to be the first appearance in the national press of an issue that been showing up in local papers up and down the country. YHA’s application for 24-hour drink and entertainment licences for many of its hostels has made the news in…
All have made some effort to obtain and express the YHA’s side of the story, but I suspect many readers will still be getting the wrong impression of the Association. Unfortunately, the YHA appears to operate a “good news only” policy on it’s news and press web pages - stories which aren’t 100% positive are left to third parties to explain, with whatever inaccuracies and distortions they introduce. So, in the absence of anything from Matlock, I’m going add to the ranks of those third parties (remember this is NOT an official YHA site) and give the story as I understand it, largely based on a briefing given to Central Regional Council last weekend.
The introduction of the 2003 Licensing Act swept aside a raft of existing legislation relating to the provision of alcohol and entertainment. As a result, YHA needs to apply for a licence for many of its hostels both to (continue to) sell alcohol and to allow live entertainment. Arguably, even a communal sing-song in a Common Room could be against the law if the hostel did not have the proper licence.
The licence application process is very convoluted, involving many pages of forms and consequently many thousands of pounds of expense. In order to try to contain the cost of the process somewhat, YHA has applied for the same licence terms for each of its properties rather than trying to tailor each one to the needs of that particular site. The 24/7 drinking licence they’re asking for across the board is simply the lowest common denominator - hardly any sites will be looking to serve liquor on that basis. It should also be pointed out that these hours apply to residents only - there won’t be people boozing at the hostel till the small hours and then staggering home and waking up the village (well there shouldn’t be anyway!).
Though they’re being applied for en masse, the licence applications will be considered individually by the relevant local authority. Where there are local objections, the terms of the licence can be trimmed back in response. Frankly, it’s not in the YHA’s interest to throw wild all-night parties at its premises, so they’ll be hoping the authorities trust them not to do so.
A related issue closer to hostel users’ hearts is the question of bringing your own booze to a hostel. Contrary to the impression sometimes given by the YHA, “bring your own” is not illegal under the new act. The problem is more subtle - as licensees, YHA staff could be considered legally liable for any drunken (mis)behaviour that takes place at a hostel, even if they didn’t supply the alcohol themselves. With a new act, and the absence of much case law, we can’t yet be sure that those staff would be considered liable, but it’s not reasonable to expect them to take the risk. For this reason they need to have control over the supply of alcohol to their guests.
That’s the reason, and it’s not one I’d want to argue with. However, I do query the prices of some YHA offerings. If my local corner shop can provide a decent bottle of plonk for less than a fiver, why can’t many youth hostels? Perhaps a better approach would be to allow hostellers to bring their own bottles, but for staff to charge a modest corkage fee for opening them (and reserve the right to refuse to open them if necessary)?. In my experience, staff generally turn a blind eye to hostellers drinking their own, ahem, blackcurrant cordial, provided they do it quietly and not too blatantly - running a hostel is enough work as it is!
I hope this post is enlightening on the subject of alcohol and youth hostels, I need a drink now…
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