Licence nightmare north of border
Between a third and a half of premises licences in Scotland have not been issued or are factually incorrect — seven months after the new regime went live.
That's according to Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SBPA). Browne said a recent survey of members revealed there were ongoing problems, although the worst boards were now starting to act.
He added that SBPA members "weren't taking any prisoners" and were sending licences with incorrect information straight back to boards.
"Having attended a number of hearings, it's safe to say that a number of boards hadn't got a very good grip on the new rules at the time.
"But if they didn't cover something in the hearing, they have no legal basis to impose retrospective conditions now."
The head of the BII in Scotland, Janet Hood, advised hosts "to check to ensure what they've been granted is what they applied for" on receipt of their new licences.
She said some boards made changes to operating plans after the initial hearings, or applied extra conditions to licences.
Andrew Thomson, a licensing lawyer in Scotland, said one of the main problems still concerned the admission of young people.
"It's an absolute shambles. It's so variable across the country," he said.
"It's impossible for staff to work out what the rules are over admitting children, let alone the lawyers and customers.
"As with any new act, it takes a while to work out what the real issues are."
He said lawyers were now looking at how to improve new licences. One example was asking for longer opening hours on Sundays to coincide with off-sales.
