Satellite premises

Satellite premises must be under the same governance as the hub premises, including supervision by the Designated Individual (DI) at the hub premises. The DI is responsible for ensuring that suitable practices are carried out at any licensed premises under their governance, and for ensuring compliance with the HTA’s licensing conditions and standards . Management of a hub and satellite premises requires the DI to put robust systems in place to ensure that the same governance systems are implemented across all licensed premises.

The HTA expects the DI to make regular visits to any and all satellite premises to verify that the governance systems are working in practice. Additionally, the HTA requires the DI to nominate, and inform the HTA, of an appropriate Person Designate based at the satellite premises to oversee the activities taking place under the licence.

Finally, the Licence Holder (LH) must accept responsibility for paying the associated licensing fees for each satellite premise.

A satellite establishment often would normally undertake only some of the activities of the hub, for example removal of material on behalf of the hub premises or storage of material. If the satellites are as large as the hub or are providing more than one activity it increases the complexity of the service provided. This means that a more hands-on approach with a DI on site would be more appropriate to ensure compliance with licence activities. The HTA will review the information provided in the application and make a judgement about whether a satellite arrangement is suitable.

The HTA licenses premises in three ways: standalone premises, hub premises and satellite premises.

Standalone premises are where an HTA licence covers a single premises only. Where licensable activities are at different locations, such as a university carrying out research on human tissues and/or cells on two different campuses, one location (campus) can become the hub premises and the second location (campus) can become a satellite of the hub. Hub and satellite arrangements may be a useful licensing solution for large or complex establishments, where the same type of activity is carried out under a single governance system across multiple locations.