NEWS: Licensing Test Purchase Case Success for Scott Blair

Posted On: 25 November 2011

Scott Blair has had another successful licensing appeal. In Lidl UK Gmbh v City of Glasgow Licensing Board (Glasgow Sheriff Court, 4 November 2011), Scott successfully defended the decision of the Licensing Board to suspend the premises licence held by Lidl.

The suspension arose out of a failure of a test purchase. The then store manager sold alcohol to a teenage test purchaser. Strathclyde Police subsequently brought an application of the review of the premises licence to the Board.

Under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 the Board decided that it was necessary for the purposes of the crime and disorder objective to suspend the licence. The case, which was recently reported on the front page of the Herald newspaper, is seen by many in licensing circles as a landmark decision. There has been a view held for some time that the failure of one test purchase could not justify the suspension of a premises licence. The judgement of Sheriff Kenneth Mitchell makes it clear that this is not so. In doing so Sheriff Mitchell accepted Scott's arguments that the deterrence of crime and disorder was a proper function of a Licensing Board under the 2005 Act and that case law decided under the 1976 Act in relation to suspension of licenses was no longer a safe or reliable guide to the approach under the new Act. Lidl were represented by Robert Skinner, Advocate.

To read the judgement of Sheriff Mitchell please click here [pdf-1.07MB].