Can a council which does not have the general powers of competence operate a bar

Question

The Parish council operates a bar, open 7 days a week 60 hours.  The council does not have General Powers of Competence.  The bar has closed due to coronavirus, and a query has been raised as to the legality of reopening it under the old arrangements where is was run by the clerk and staff, rather than through a separate commercial vehicle.

Answer 1

There needs to be some more information which would have relevance to a correct answer. This is not just a question of whether the council can or should as it strays into the domain of licensing laws. Who owns the building where the bar is run from? ( a premises needs to be registered and comply with regulations and have a premises licence issued upon which terms and conditions and restrictions are stated). Who is the person who is the designated premises supervisor who authorises the sale of alcohol (who must hold a personal licence to sell alcohol). If this requirement has been removed then who ( committee or group) holds the responsibility to ensure the requirements (and liability) for the licensing laws to be met?

So it depends on where the bar is, who is responsible to meet the regulations, and all this before you work out whether the PC is running a profit making business (or not)

Comments

Thanks
The building is owned by the council.  It is fully compliant with licensing laws
The premises supervisor is a council employee.
The bar comes under full council at present, though it was run by a centre committee (it forms part of a larger centre).
So, its in a council owned building, the council is responsible in meeting all regulations, the license is in the name of  a council employee.  Profit or loss is to the council budget (ie loss paid out of precept).

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As said by Dave the requirements are laid down. Incidentally the building owned by the council and used for the bar is precluded from being used for PC meetings due to it being licensed premises.

Answer 2

All trading activity must be conducted through a trading company (Local Government Act 2003, Section 95) and must relate to the council's ordinary functions. The Localism Act 2011 relaxed some of these restrictions, but only for councils with the GPoC.