The children's certificate, proposed in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill, will be the first legislative amendment to the regulation of children in licensed bars since 1933.

The Children and Young Persons Act of that year made it an offence to allow a person under 14 years of age ('the child') to be in the bar of licensed premises during the permitted hours.

The prohibition is now found at s.168 of the Licensing Act 1964.CertificateUnder these proposals no offence is committed provided the certificate is in force for that bar, it is operational on that day and at that time of day, and the child is accompanied by a person aged 18 or over.The justices are given a wide discretion to grant a licence but may not do so unless two requirements are met: the area to be covered by the certificate must constitute 'an environment in which it is suitable for persons under 14 to be present'; and that meals and beverages other than intoxicating liquor will be available for sale for consumption there.

Upon grant the justices must impose the condition that meals and non-alcoholic drinks will be available at all times during which the certificate is operational.

They may impose such other conditions as they think fit.So how will the provisions be applied, and what are the practical considerations for applicants and their advisers?Defining key elementsIt is unfortunate that two of the key elements of the certificate - its application to a bar and the availability of a meal - are among the hardest words to define with certainty, within the context of liquor licensing.

No attempt has been made to re-define 'bar' and so the non-exhaustive meaning given to it by s.201 of the 1964 Act applies: the expression includes 'any place exclusively or mainly used for the sale and consumption of intoxicating liquor'.

It is a question of fact to be determined in each case but perhaps the virtue of the certificate is that it will provi de certainty where the position is unclear - there will be no argument whether the child is causing an offence to be committed where the certificate applies.The word 'meals' is not defined either.

The High Court has in the past provided assistance by saying that sandwiches and sausages on sticks constituted a meal (Solomanv Green (1955) 119 JP 289) as did a substantial sandwich accompanied by beetroot and pickles (Timmis v Millman (1965) 109 SJ 31).

It is important to note that these cases were decided in the context of a supper hours certificate; however, that may not be a sufficient answer in this setting, ie where the certificate is to enable children to be present.The Bill requires meals to be available for consumption, but does not say by whom the food is to be consumed.

There may be an implied assumption that meals must be available for consumption by all persons who may be present.

Would it not defeat the purpose of the legislation unless all ages were provided for? What would be the value of food that catered only for the gourmet and the gourmand? For some children a bag of crisps or a few chips may be a sufficient meal.

Since the youngest child on the premises may be just a few days old, must the landlord keep a stock of baby food as well? It is a pity that our legislators have not made a clearer pronouncement on something so fundamental to the operation of the certificate.In comparison with other 'ancillary' certificates - such as the supper hour or special hours certificates where the notion of table meals and music and dancing is more clearly understood and quantifiable - the assessment of what constitutes a suitable environment is inexact and highly subjective.

Common sense will no doubt prevail, but the disparity between Benches may soon become apparent.ConditionsMagistrates may be tempted to use conditions to create a suitable environment.

It is submitted that they cannot: either a suitable environment exists, in which case the certificate may be granted with such conditions as may facilitate the use of the premises by all ages, or it does not, in which case the application will be refused.

The environment must be found to exist at the time of grant; conditions come into force afterwards.An anomaly is created by the provision that a children's certificate may be applied for at the provisional grant of the 'host' licence.

No crystal ball is supplied with a copy of the legislation to assist the justices to foresee whether premises yet to be built constitute a suitable environment!The children's certificate has been available in Scotland since the beginning of 1991.

From the latest published figures, of all eligible premises 19% had a children's certificate.

The highest take-up rates were in Stewartry (71%) and Nairn (67%) That figure was 1% in Edinburgh - that city that has become synonymous with rigorous, if not unrealistic, conditions.

The licensing board there has laid down a list of conditions that must be met in every case, and they include a complete ban on smoking, the provision of 'unisex' nappy-changing facilities, temperature regulation in the wash-room to prevent scalding and the supply to children of drinks in plastic or paper cups.It is the use - or misuse - of the conditions that has discredited the certificate in the eyes of some licensees and accounts for such wide variation in demand.

It is to be hoped that licensing justices will steer away from the idea of a list of preconditions, although applicants may hope for guidance from the court's policy document, and that any conditions that are considered to be excessive are quashed on appeal to the Crown Court (there is no equivalent power of appeal in Scotland).The imposition of severe conditions discourages licensees from applying.

This in turn reduces the number of premises in which children can observe sensible and moderate drinking in a non-threatening environment, which somewhat defeats the purpose of the introduction of the certificate.The only fresh condition that may be applied for after the grant of the certificate is approval to open after 9pm.

The only way of altering or removing a condition appears to be surrender of the certificate and an application for a new one free from that condition.Licensees have always had to be careful to monitor the age of persons on their premises, whether they are simply present in the bar or are attempting to purchase intoxicants.

Far from relaxing under the protection of a children's certificate, the licensee now must also check the age of the accompanying adult.

Even if the certificate is in force, an offence will be committed if a child in the bar is unaccompanied, or accompanied by a person under 18.CompetitionThe proposals are a welcome amendment to the licensing system, so far as they go.

They will allow licensees to compete for trade with restaurants, where there is no similar age restriction.

The embarrassment and disappointment of turning away customers with children, without seeming justification, will be at an end.There seems to be an unwarranted reliance on food.

It may fairly be said that the government consulted on the basis that the certificate would be dependent on the availability of food, although no support was given for the statement: 'To assist in establishing that particular bar premises are a potentially suitable environment for such children, it certainly seems right to require that food should be available to them.' (Possible Reforms of the Liquor Licensing System in England and Wales: A Consultation Paper - March 1993, para 2.20)Why? The presence or absence of food does not of itself moderate the environment of a bar.

Certainly it would preclude those bars which are no more than 'drinking dens', but why is it not enough that a child-friendly environment exists? Increasingly bars do provide food, but how can the fact that the chef will cook sausage and chips on demand affect in any direct way the suitability of premises for children?It is certainly less onerous than the Scottish requirement that the child is allowed in the bar only for the purpose of consuming a meal, but it does seem unfair that a licensee must insist that a family leaves a bar because the certificate ceases to operate after 3pm when the chef goes home!ReformThe white paper mooted a wider reform of licensing laws.

It is disappointing that the only proposal to emerge to date has left essential matters unclear and offers less to those licensees who, by skilful use of premises and creation of bar-free family rooms, can already entertain all ages and at all times, free from burdensome conditions and the requirement to offer meals.It is also ironic that a proposal made under the banner of 'deregulation', and set to add nine sub-sections and a schedule of ten paragraphs to the statute book has the capacity to be over-regulated by Edinburgh-type conditions.However, the Bill was published after much consultation, and its appearance - even in its present form - must demonstrate a body of support in England and Wales for the certificate.

Its success must rest in the hands of justices in their judicious assessment of meals a nd bars and the suitability of premises, and the moderate application of conditions, in which case it will be welcomed by licensees and families alike.