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Calling Time on Scotland's Pubs
The stories of thousands of licensed premises closing their doors throughout Scotland are, unfortunately, highly accurate, and it's not merely attributable to the economic downturn. In just a couple of weeks, it is anticipated that Scotland will lose some 20% of its existing licensed premises (around 3,800, in all), when the new Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 comes into force.
Stephen McGowan reveals the extent of the damage the new legislation is having on the Scottish hospitality industry…
Freedom of Information requests made by the Scottish Beer & Pub Association earlier this year revealed that 20% of businesses had not yet applied for the new Premises Licence, which is due to come into force on 1st September. Some of these insisted they could not afford the massive hike in licensing fees the new system had introduced, while others claimed they had already closed because of the general economic downturn.
Of the 80% of premises which have managed to apply, many appear unaware of the remaining obligations and requirements. In addition to the obligatory Premises Licence, operators must also name an individual as the Premises Manager; the 'nomination' process for this varies from board to board and can be as simple as emailing the licensing staff or completing a minor application with a £20 fee. This particular process is the one affected by the recent 'extension' (to 1st November 2009) which has just been approved, following an emergency Order which came into force on 30th July.
Again, however, this is more deceptive than it first appears, as the emergency order is no cure-all. In order to be named as a Premises Manager, the individual must first have passed a training course and in turn have applied for a Personal Licence from the relevant licensing board. Training courses are vastly oversubscribed, and awarding bodies are taking a lot longer to issue certificates because of the backlog.
The 'extension' simply allows an individual who has lodged their Personal Licence by 31st August to be nominated on a Premises Licence. Where that has been carried out, trading will not be affected.
It should be noted, though, that the new extension will not be relevant to those who haven't yet applied for their Personal Licence at all, and it will only apply if the proposed manager goes through the special nomination procedure. Furthermore, the extension does not apply to premises with a new licence lodged after 28th February 2009.
These stipulations may affect newly built premises, or those which have undergone refurbishment and required a new licence. The extension to 1st November also means that if, for whatever reason, the issuing board fails to grant the Personal Licence by that date, then alcohol sales will require to cease from that moment until such times as the Personal Licence is granted.
Furthermore, the new staff-training requirement decrees that everyone who sells or supplies alcohol, whether full-time, part-time, paid or unpaid – even voluntary workers – must undergo a statutory two-hour training course featuring 16 specific topics, all of which MUST be completed by 1st September; there are no extensions here.
This will be of particular concern to hospitality operators using agency staff, as evidence of successful training will need to be produced before they will be permitted to work. If not, it will be the licence-holder who is liable if they allow untrained staff to work on the premises. Licensing Standards Officers will have the power to stop alcohol sales in businesses with no nominated manager, and will also be checking training records..
Those advising the trade have had a nervous eye on 1st September for some time, and now that 'D-Day' is approaching, I can't help but recall Churchill's famous words: 'Now is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'.
For more information on the Licensing Act (Scotland) 2005 and the imminent changes to licensing legislation, visit www.todsmurray.com.
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature, please see Catering in Scotland magazine September/October 2009.
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