Scotland - Significant changes to the Licensing Act (Scotland) 2005 tabled

The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 14 May 2014 and seeks to make numerous and significant changes to the Licensing Act (Scotland) 2005 as follows:

• Amending the licensing objective relating to children to also include the protection of young persons.
• Tying in length of Licensing Policies to elections with new policies required within 18 months of local elections.
• Providing Licensing Boards extra powers / grounds for refusal when determining applications as follows (principally the reintroduction of the fit and proper person test)
  • premises licence applications
    • refusal on the grounds that the applicant is not a fit and proper person
  • licence transfer
    • refusal on the grounds that the transferee is not a fit and proper person; or
    • refusal otherwise necessary in realtion to any licensing objective.
  • Reviews
    • extra ground for Review as to whether the licence holder is a fit and proper person and if this is establisehd that the licence must be revoked
  • personal licence applications
    • refusal on the grounds that the applicant is not a fit and proper person; or
    • refusal otherwise necessary in relation to any licensing objective
• Personal licence applications to also be notified to Licensing Standards Officers, who may comment on the application within 21 days of receipt
• Convictions for relevant offence or foreign offences can still be considered even when spent.
• New offences
  • Supply of alcohol to a child in public places (except for religious worship)
  • Supply of alcohol (knowingly) to a young persons in public places (except for religious worship)
  • (s105 (4), (5) and (7) to be repealed)
• Inclusion of angostura bitters as alcoholic products
• Overprovision
  • Licensing Boards may detemine whole of Licensing Board area as an overprovision locality
  • No longer must have regard to number and capacity of licensed premises in the locality but may have regard to (amongst other things) the number, capacity and licensed hours of licensed premises in the locality
• New duty of Licensing Boards to produce annual financial report.
• ‘Interested parties' to be repealed.
• Revocation of a personal licence for failure to undertake training requirements does not have to result in a 5 year ban for applying for a personal licence.
• Licensing Board must remind personal licence holder 9 months (previously 3) prior to the licence expiring of need to renew licence and renewal window to be period of 9 months beginning 12 months before expiry date.
• Duty to be placed on Licensing Boards to acknowledge certain applications.
• Licensing Boards must detemine relevant applications meeting prescribed requirements within 9 months. Failure to do so means the application is deemed granted (with no conditions permitted to be added).

Further, the Bill also proposes the creation of the new SEV licensing regime amongst other changes to other licensing regimes.

We will keep you apprised of developments.