Scottish licensing act

Licensing Boards, under section 27 3 of the Act, must attach further conditions to any licence premises which operates after 1 am. These are set out in regulations made under the Act and are summarised below. There is one mandatory condition which must be attached to the licences for all premises that state in their operating plan that they intend to open after 1 am.

This condition requires each premises to have present between the hours of 1 am to 5 am a person trained to the satisfaction of the Licensing Board in administering first aid. Lists of first-aid training organisations in the relevant local area are available from the HSE. To support the objectives of the Act, Ministers intend that certain premises should have further mandatory conditions attached to their premises licence if they list in their operating plan that they wish to operate after 1 am.

Such conditions are appropriate and proportionate in meeting the needs of public safety and tackling crime. For example a small restaurant has a very different effect on the night-time economy when compared to a large nightclub or 'super pub'. A definition of those premises for which Licensing Boards will be required to attach these additional conditions is set out in the regulations and is reproduced below.

The intention of this definition is to differentiate those premises which will attract large amounts of customers and where the consumption of alcohol is a major component of the premises operation. Such additional mandatory conditions are not necessarily appropriate for other late opening premises, e.

Licensing Boards when considering any premises licence whose operating plan states that they wish to operate after 1 am may find it appropriate to supplement the mandatory late opening conditions with other conditions. The addition of such conditions should be appropriate and proportionate and made on a case by case basis after consideration of antisocial behaviour reports submitted by the Police and the effective delivery of the licensing objectives of the Act.

A Licensing Board may attach a condition which is mandatory for certain premises to a premises licence which fell outwith the prescribed definition if they thought it necessary and proportionate.

A Licensing Board may also decide the time at which individual conditions should come into operation for each licence. For example in some circumstances it may be appropriate to have stewards on duty from 10 pm, rather than from 1 am. Listed below are conditions that Boards may wish to consider.

This is not an exhaustive list and does not restrict Licensing Boards in any way. Boards may wish to consider applying such conditions to a premises licence if circumstances and the licensing objectives warrant such application. For example, in a particular premises or type of premises it may be reasonable to ban the use of glass to ensure that glasses and bottles are not used as weapons, or to prevent accidents on a dance floor when such receptacles are dropped.

However it may be disproportionate to apply such a condition to the premises licence for a restaurant. In applying other conditions Licensing Boards should do so in line with the its licensing policy and the licensing objectives of the Act.

It must also apply conditions fairly across the sector so as not to disadvantage one premises against another. This however would not be relevant if a Licensing Board was seeking to tackle a problem particular to a certain premises. In producing a policy on hours, Boards should consider the effect on a premises' surrounding neighbours. This is a particular problem with late opening premises.

Boards should be aware that complaints arise not only from the general noise of activities on the premises but from people leaving and the closing and opening routines. For example, the disposal of glassware, restocking deliveries, closing shutters and activating alarms all of which can lengthen the hours of disturbance. Such disturbance may not only continue for a period after closing could begin early in the morning as the premises prepares for the next day's trade.

It is hoped that many such problems can be solved through mediation. The need to tackle irresponsible promotions and the associated problems that they can cause is central to the policy objectives of the new licensing system. Ministers recognise that not all alcohol promotions are irresponsible and that the majority of licensees act responsibly in running their businesses. However, the undesirable health and social consequences of binge and underage drinking, which can be encouraged by irresponsible promotions, are widely recognised.

Current trends suggest that this is a particular problem for young women. Ministers consider that "Irresponsible promotions" are those promotions which actively encourage people to consume a large quantity of alcohol in a short period of time. This may be done by cutting prices for a specified short period - e. This may also include promoting competitions based on increased consumption of alcohol.

Irresponsible promotions would also include "upselling". This type of activity not only runs counter to the overarching objectives and values of the new licensing system, it also increases the likelihood of antisocial and criminal behaviour, increases the burden on the NHS and the police and discredits responsible members of the licensed trade.

It would also be unacceptable to leave unchallenged an area of activity which undermines the wider work the Executive is engaged in under the Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems, the overall purpose of which is to reduce alcohol related harm in Scotland. The Act sets out a new national policy designed to target irresponsible alcohol promotions by way of applying a standard national licence condition to all premises licences contained in schedule 3 to the Act.

Ministers consider that there is a clear need for a national lead on this issue and for national consistency to set a framework for the future. Ministers believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle promotions is to tackle price. Such policies, based on non-differential pricing, have already been trialled successfully in Scotland. The Act sets out in the form of a national licence condition for all premises licences a 'non-differential' pricing policy which requires licence holders to maintain their price list for a minimum of 72 hours.

Prices may only be decreased or increased on a 72 hour frequency. Ministers felt, however that on its own this was not enough to prevent other generic types of promotion such as upselling, a fixed amount for all you can drink and free drinks linked to entry fees.

Therefore, Schedules 3 and 4 to the Act also provides a series of mandatory national licence conditions applicable to irresponsible promotions would ban a defined list of generic promotions. Ministers do not believe that this policy can presently be generally extended to off-sales promotions in the absence of any concrete evidence to suggest that purchasing a large quantity of alcohol in an off-licence is linked to immediate consumption and to binge drinking.

However, the Act does extend some of the mandatory conditions to off-sales particularly those aimed at young persons. These are set out below. The Executive is currently considering research into establishing whether or not there is a direct causal link between binge drinking and excessive drinking and promotions in off-sales.

A power is provided for Ministers to update the list of mandatory licence conditions by modifying the schedule should the research suggest this may be necessary, in light of further policy consideration, or in light of experience gained once the Act is implemented. It should be emphasised that the proposals in the Act will restrict types of promotions, that encourage binge drinking and underage drinking, not products themselves. The proposals in the Act address the issue of binge and under age drinking and the length of time a product has been on the market is irrelevant.

It may be that in some cases the determination of what is and is not an irresponsible promotion will be left for the courts to determine. This may arise where a member of the public, the police or the Licensing Standards Officer has brought to the attention of the Board a case where they feel such a promotion is being offered.

Ministers expect that this should be dealt with initially at a local level by the Licensing Standards Officer, who would mediate between the licensee and the Board to agree whether or not any promotion breached the mandatory licence conditions. In most cases it is hoped that these cases can be resolved in discussion between the LSO and the licensee without any sanctions being applied by the Board.

However, where the Board feels that further action is appropriate, it would instigate a review hearing to determine what action, if any, needed to be taken against the licensee concerned. It is expected that the mandatory conditions set out in the schedule 3 to the Act provide a clear statement of what would be considered an irresponsible promotion, and should not lead to ambiguity in many cases.

The provisions in schedules 3 and 4 concerning irresponsible drinks promotions are generally directed at promotional activity and not at pricing activity. The Parliament legislated to prevent the irresponsible promotions listed in Schedules 3 and 4 being carried out on licensed premises.

Ministers do not intend to prescribe the prices at which any alcohol or measure of alcohol is to be sold. Information We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing experience. Accept all cookies Use essential cookies only Set cookie preferences.

Home Publications. Licensing Scotland Act section guidance for licensing boards and local authorities. Supporting documents. Contents Close. Choose section Page 1 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Statements of Licensing Policy 3. The Overprovision Assessment 4. Premises Licence 5. Occasional licence 6. Personal Licence 7. Control of Order 8. Excluded Premises 9.

Exempt Premises Licensing Standards Officers Other offences Transition Premises Licence Background Operating plans and layout plans Internet and mail order sales Relevant Licensing Board The coronavirus outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on Scotland including all sectors of the economy.

The licensed trade has been affected in different ways. Those licensed for the off-sale of alcohol may of course have been adversely affected e. However, off-sales have been able to continue for many retailers and some may have even experienced increased sales.

This is because of course the on-sale of alcohol has ceased through the need for relevant establishments to close down. The Scottish Government is committed to seek to assist the licensed trade recover from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

New flexibility and discretion was added to the operation of the alcohol licensing system under the Act through the Coronavirus Scotland Act Any decisions a Board makes must be consistent with the five licensing objectives which remain the central most important principles of the Act. Awareness of the current coronavirus pandemic situation should also be borne in mind by Boards when making decisions. Within the overall legal framework provided for in the Act and the associated secondary legislative regime, the Scottish Government considers flexibility and pragmatism in decision-making and sensitivity to the wider economic situation should be at the forefront of how a Board decides to operate e.

The existence of the occasional licence system within the Act is long-standing and reflects the need to be able to respond to a short-term situation where a licence to sell alcohol is required where a full premises licence is not appropriate. The occasional licence application requirements are lighter-toucher as a result. Given the requirements for physical distancing, it can be expected that some licensed premises will explore maximising the use of their available space for the sale of alcohol in innovative ways that may not even have seemed apparent or possible prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

For example, repurposing the use of garden space or car park space may be possible for some on-sale establishments. Accept all cookies Use essential cookies only Set cookie preferences. Home Publications. Alcohol licensing: guidance. Contents Close. Introduction Personal Licence renewal Personal Licence refresher training Further information Introduction When selling alcohol on licensed premises, the sale must be authorised generally or specifically by a Personal Licence Holder.

This is a considerable responsibility and, as such, Personal Licence Holders have two important obligations:- 1. They must undergo refresher training every 5 years to refresh their knowledge of the licensing regime, and send the training certificate to the relevant Licensing Board; and 2.

Personal licence renewal — important information The Licensing Scotland Act came into full effect in September It is strongly recommended that these Personal Licence Holders take immediate action to undergo training and renew their licence. Applicants and Licensing Boards guidance. Licensing legislation. First published: 1 Dec Last updated: 20 Dec - show all updates. Was this helpful? Your feedback will help us improve this site Feedback type Yes No Yes, but.

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