Article on the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

Author: Scott Blair | Posted: June 5, 2008

Download Full Article: Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 Article.pdf

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

Scott Blair, Advocate

(This article originally appeared in Licensing Circles, the journal of the Institute of Licensing and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the Institute.  For more information on the Institute visit www.instituteoflicensing.org)

Background to the 2005 Act

Since 1976 liquor licensing law in Scotland has been regulated by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.  Concern over the age of that Act, changes in drinking culture, and a strong health and anti-social behaviour lobby, caused the Scottish Executive to appoint a senior Scottish Judge, Sheriff Principal Nicholson, to set up a committee to review the Act. Most but not all of the recommendations of his report have found their way into the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 which received Royal Assent on 21 December 2005. 

The Act is influenced by the Licensing Act 2003 for England and Wales although there are many differences. There are many regulations made under the Act.

All the licences under the new system and most of the provisions of the 2005 Act will take effect at 0500 am on 1 September 2009. Transition started on 1 February 2008. It will last until the end of August 2009. During transition 1976 Act licences will continue to run until 1 September 2009 when they will terminate automatically. In this period 1976 licences will be deemed to automatically be extended. I will look a little more at transition later in this article paper but having set the scene I want to look at some of the key features of the Act.

The Licensing Objectives

Section 4 establishes five "licensing objectives". These are preventing crime and disorder, securing public safety, preventing public nuisance, protecting and improving public health, and protecting children from harm.

These represent the values on which the Scottish licensing system will be based. The 1976 Act was criticised by judges for lacking a clear and coherent philosophy. The 2005 Act attempts to remedy that. Advisers will need to assess in what way a particular proposal promotes or is inconsistent with the objectives. Inconsistency with a licensing objective is a ground for refusing an application for a premises licence.

In England and Wales the Licensing Act 2003 has all of these objectives apart from the health objective. What the promotion of health means in the context of the sale of alcohol means has been the subject of debate.  

(Continued.  For full article please download using the link at the top of the page.)