Licensing
Legal age of marriage and civil partnerships raised to 18
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 has now come into force (27th February 2023). This is an important change and one which anyone having the benefit of a permission to undertake marriages or civil ceremonies at their s...
Walsall EMRO Update
Further to our recent article on the consideration of the adoption of an EMRO, Walsall licensing Committee met on the evening of 22nd February. For those who are interested, here is a link to the relevant page on Walsall Council website which prov...
Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council SEV Policy Successfully Challenged in The High Court
Following on from the Sheriff’s Court decision in Edinburgh last week, the High Court has also heard a case in relation to sexual entertainment venues. The High Court has reversed Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council’s decisio...
Edinburgh Nil-Limit SEV Policy Declared Unlawful
A Scottish Court has declared Edinburgh City Council’s decision to implement a “nil-limit” on Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) unlawful following a judicial review brought by the United Sex Workers Union (USW). USW hopes that ...
EMROs may be back? Walsall looking into one.
News reaches us that Walsall Licensing Committee are taking preliminary steps, which could lead to the implementation, of an Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO). This is a mechanism whereby a Licensing Authority can bring in a blanket restricti...
UK pub and bar closures in 2022 approached highest level in a decade
An analysis of statistics from the Insolvency Service shows pub and bar bankruptcies across the UK were near the highest level in a decade with 512 companies going out of business in 2022, an increase of 56% from 2021 (which saw 280 insolvencies)....
Scotland - New measures to boost hospitality and town centre recovery - Tables & Chairs
The Scottish Government laid draft Regulations before the Scottish Parliament on Friday (10th February) which should lead to hospitality businesses being able to place tables and chairs on the pavement outside their premises without submitting a p...