Scotland - Glasgow propose 4am terminal hour

Glasgow have begun consultation on their latest Statement of Licensing Policy .  Following extended hours being permitted by the Board during August to coincide with the European Championships, co-hosted in the city, Glasgow are proposing an extension to the terminal hour of 4am for nightclubs, which can “demonstrate a positive contribution to the night-time economy, but also excellent standards in managing licensed premises”.

The terminal hour for the majority of venues in the city would remain at midnight.

Speaking about the draft proposals the chairman of the Licensing Board, Councillor Matt Kerr, stated:

"We listened very carefully to the submissions we received about the importance of the night-time economy to the city centre. There's also a strong view that a more European approach would avoid the rush to consume alcohol before closing time that then spills out on to our city centre streets.

"We want to support the licensed trade as much as we can while also ensuring we still provide the safeguards expected of us by the licensing legislation. By potentially granting licences until 4am while demanding the highest possible standards from licence holders we are striking the right balance between the licence trade and the needs of the wider community.

"It's very important to stress that this is still a proposal and that in any event, 4am closing would still be the subject a pilot programme that will draw in evidence from the likes of the police and the health service. We want feedback from as many people as possible on this proposal and others in the draft policy statement before reaching a final position. It's essential our policies are shaped by Glasgow as a whole."

Other proposals in the draft statement which demonstrate the Boards focus on responsible retailing include:

• The creation of DJ conditions that would allow venues to apply for extended hours so long as they satisfy technical criteria intended to support DJs to perform to the best of their ability.

• Offering venues with Best Bar None gold status the opportunity to apply for extended hours on ten additional occasions each year.

• A commitment to reducing the prevalence of single-use plastic.

• Allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to remain on licensed premises until 11pm while the terminal hour for children under 16-year-olds would remain at 9pm. This would allow greater scope for young people to enjoy licensed premises such as restaurants, subject to the usual Challenge 25 controls.

• Creating a proper framework to regulate the delivery of alcohol, which has grown as part of the trend towards food deliveries.

• Encouraging more licensed premises to deliver awareness training to their staff on child sexual exploitation.

• Promoting the 'Agent of Change' concept so that the responsibility for addressing the impact on communities through changes to the local licensed trade is managed by licence holders themselves.

• Encouraging the use of the 'Ask for Angela' scheme which allows vulnerable customers to seek a safe place with the assistance from premise's staff.

• Alcohol-related harm data to be used to scrutinise applications for off-sales licences in areas of high alcohol-related harm that are outside the city's overprovision areas.

The full draft policy can be found here and consultations must be made by Friday 5 October 2018.

We shall keep you updated.