North of the border - licensing issues provoking debate in Scotland

by David Clifton of London solicitors Joelson WIlson, part of thePublican.com's legal team​

On the day that the Scottish Parliament voted to ban foxhunting with hounds, I was speaking at the eighth annual Scottish Licensing Board conference in Dundee.​

If the debate on foxhunting caused passionate exchanges of views, so too did talk of reform of Scottish laws affecting the licensed trade. An appropriate time, then, for a round-up of the issues provoking particular interest north of the border.

It is ironic that the licensing White Paperproposals for England and Wales stem in part from complimentary remarks by the Better Regulation Task Force about the Scottish licensing system, when proposals are now being made in Scotland to "rip it up and start again".

Among the suggestions for reform is that Scottish councillors, who took over responsibilities from magistrates for licensing in 1976, should relinquish their sole authority to new licensing boards containing members from other walks of life.

Stories were told at the conference of extraordinary behaviour by councillors determining licensing applications in Scotland, often motivated by political reasons - in just the same way that I have experienced in entertainment licensing hearings in England and Wales.

I am sure that it is the misconduct of a small minority which tarnishes the reputation of the majority, but it does not bode well for the Government's intention to pass responsibility for all licensing in England and Wales to local authorities.

Overall I was left with the impression that common sense should lead to a greater sharing of ideas on licensing reform between parties north and south of the border. This does not necessarily mean that the same licensing system should be adopted by all, but we do all live on the same island and, in my view at least, would benefit from greater shared experience.

Scottish licensing statistics​

The arguments by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association in favour of a cap on licences are put in perspective by Scottish Licensing Statistics 2000 which has recently been published. This shows that there were 17,244 liquor licences in force in Scotland on December 31 last year - equivalent to 43 licences for every 10,000 persons aged over 18 in Scotland.

There were 880 new applications for liquor licences in Scotland last year (94 per cent of which were granted), 137 more than in 1999. However, the overall figure of liquor licences has remained fairly constant throughout the last five years.

The detailed percentages vary considerably throughout Scotland with considerable disparity between the urban areas and the more rural areas.

Doorstaff in Scotland​

Private Security Industry Act passed by Parliament earlier this year will not apply in Scotland. Politics dictate that it is extremely unlikely that the Scottish Executive will vote to extend the remit of the Act to cover Scotland as well. Consultation is presently taking place on the subject.

The other three options for consideration are:

• self-regulation under a voluntary code of practice
• a mandatory licensing system under existing legislation
• establishment of Scotland's own independent Security Industry Authority.

The view was expressed at the conference by Alan Morton, chairman of the Leisure Safety and Security Association, that the last of those various options is likely to be the outcome.

Scottish licensing review ​

An independent commission has been set up by the Scottish Executive with sheriff principal Gordon Nicholson QC as its chairman. The purpose of the commission is to review Scottish licensing laws and to make any appropriate recommendations for reform.

Particular attention is to be focused on:

• health and public order issues
• happy hours
• binge drinking
• alcohol-related violence.

Deputy justice minister Iain Gray said: "Scotland's licensing laws have served us well since they were reformed 25 years ago. However, the time is right to look at them again in the light of changes in society and developments in the pub and bar trade, including new promotional activities like happy hours."

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association is suggesting that there should be a cap on the number of licences issued and a ban on price-led promotions.

Representatives from the association expressed considerable interest in the harsher licensing policy now being adopted by the City of Westminster.

Action on alcohol misuse​

Scotland is likely to have a national alcohol strategy plan in place by December. This follows a consultation exercise which ended on June 29 and elicited 164 replies. With £2.5m set aside to facilitate implementation of this plan over three years, it is being claimed that Scotland is leading the way.

Some fairly sobering statistics set the backdrop to this latest development. Deaths in Scotland related to alcohol have more than doubled in the last decade.

Nearly one in four of all hospital admissions in Scotland (and 95 per cent on Saturday nights) are related to alcohol. About 33 per cent of Scottish men and 15 per cent of Scottish women are consuming more than a "responsible level" of alcohol. In one age group, 17 per cent of men regularly consume alcohol primarily in order to get drunk. The cost of alcohol misuse to Scottish society has been estimated to be £638m a year.

The Scottish Executive expenditure in relation to drug misuse in 1999/2000 was £143.5m. In the same year it was just £1.3m in relation to alcohol abuse.

We wait to read what the strategy plan has to say about the "Do you want to be an alcoholic?" and "Never-ending vodka glass" promotions that seem to have been causing a bit of a stir in Scottish cities recently.

Related stories​

A guide to the Licensing White Paper (7 August 2001)

Private Security Industry Act 2001 (1 August 2001)