Paterson's Licensing Acts 2012

Paterson's is back on top form this year. A general tidying-up and corrections of some minor heading and annotation errors has been accompanied by a very up-to-date review of licensing and a confident and authoritative foreword which is reminiscent of earlier years and is worthy of reading in its own right. It concentrates understandably in the first volume on the changes to the Licensing Act 2003 brought about by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which was fortunately passed at just the right time for publishing requirements. This has allowed not only for an extended explanation of the main effects of the Act in the foreword, but also what amounts to a Keeling Schedule type amendment of the principal Act which will be invaluable later in the year when the changes take full effect. Even now, it gives pointers to the areas where practitioners are going to have to adapt their approach to applications and appeals, and for this reason alone purchase of the current edition seems to provide excellent value for money.

One also gets the impression that the footnotes have been improved and expanded particularly in the alcohol and entertainment section. It is the explanatory notes, together with relevant cases, which make Paterson’s unique in its presentation of licensing law and this is arguably the most important aspect of the work, rather than its considerable bulk.

Volume 2, which is principally concerned with gambling law, has shrunk by some 200 pages but is still the larger tone, principally reflecting the huge amount of supplementary material which this area of the law tends to spawn.

The appeals section at the back of volume 2 understandably includes the ruling in theHope & Glory case, but also contains valuable material on a range of appeals in licensing and gaming matters.

It is as a desk reference that it is at its most valuable. This year's edition certainly maintains the high standard of the work and is to be highly recommended as the main point of reference for licensing.

Licensing Review