To gain accreditation, licensed premises must have these essential policies and procedures in place covering:

• incident/accident recording
• zero tolerance to drugs
• first aid
• fire detection
• under age drinking.

Licensees have to fill in an application form linked directly to the grounds covered by the 2003 Licensing Act:

Prevention of crime and disorder: capacity, security, drinks/drunkenness, drugs, thefts/burglary, disorder
For example: How do you manage drunkenness, drugs and disorder?

Public safety: first aid, event control, glass, fire, building safety, transport
For example: Do you have first-aid facilities? Do you have a fire and evacuation plan?

Prevention of public nuisance: noise, community engagement, litter/waste
For example: How do you minimise your customers disturbing others on leaving?

Protection of children from harm:For example: How do you manage underage issues?

The application also asks about staff training - if policies exist and how they are implemented.

Assessment

Assessors trained by Greater Manchester Police visit all premises that apply for accreditation under the scheme. The visits are arranged by appointment, at the convenience of the licensee during the day, and last about an hour to an hour and a half.

The assessors use a scoring booklet, which allows space for comments, explanation of any decisions taken during the assessment, and to record instances of good/bad practice.

Assessment is an audit of working practices described by the venue in their application. It’s not about carrying out any enforcement activities as Best Bar None is a positive accreditation scheme.

The aim of assessment is to ensure fairness and to look for evidence that premises have essential policies and procedures in place.

Accreditation

Venues have to meet 25 essential criteria to gain accreditation under the scheme. Premises that exceed the minimum standard can achieve desirable and bonus criteria. Extra bonus points can be awarded at the discretion of the assessors to recognise examples of good practice not captured by Best Bar None.

Judging process

The top ranked premises in each category are put before a judging panel. The judges for Best Bar None Derby 2007 were:

• Dave Lalor, Chair of Derby Pubwatch
• Superintendent Pete Lewis, Derbyshire Constabulary
• Mike Murray, Head of the Drugs Team, Derby Community Safety Partnership
• Councillor Hardial Singh Dhamrait, Chair of Taxi Licensing Committee, Derby City Council
• Andrew Cochrane, Partner, Flint Bishop Law Firm

For more information on Best Bar None

If you have any questions or comments about the scheme, please contact:

Séverine Bernasconi
Senior Community Safety Officer
Telephone: 01332 256874
email: severine.bernasconi@derby.gov.uk