Licensing news Scotland - January 2019
This month in summary:
Licensing news
Here is a list of some of those key dates for the licensing trade in 2019:
- 1 Feb – 16 March: Rugby 6 Nations tournament
- 1 Feb – 17 March: Women's 6 Nations tournament
- 17 March: St Patrick's Day
- 29 March: UK currently scheduled to leave EU
- 6 April: Grand National
- 19-22 April: Easter weekend
- 18 May: FA Cup Final
- 20 May : 14 July: Cricket World Cup
- 25 May : Scottish Cup final
- 27 May: Spring Bank Holiday
- 29 May: UEFA Europa League Final
- 1 June: Champions League Final
- 5&6 June: UEFA Nations League Semi-final
- 7 June – 7 July: Women's football World Cup (France)
- 9 June: UEFA Nations League Final/ 3rd Place
- 20 September – 2 November: Rugby World Cup (Japan)
The Immigration Act 2016 will introduce right to work checks into Scottish alcohol and late hours catering licensing, i.e. certain types of applicant may have to demonstrate that they have the right to work in the UK. While there had been concern from many stakeholders that this would disrupt the renewal process for Personal Licences, the Home Office has confirmed that the changes will not be brought into effect until after the first tranche of Personal Licence renewals have been dealt with. The changes are now expect sometime in September 2019.
In any case, this is a good reminder for all in the licensed trade to check the expiry date of their Personal Licence and, if necessary, take urgent action to renew their Personal Licence. Further information can be found in our guide to renewing your personal licence.
The amended hours for public house style premises are as follows:
- Outwith festive period: Sunday to Wednesday: 12midnight (increase of an hour) Thursday to Saturday: 12:30am (unchanged)
- Festive period:Monday to Sunday: 1am (increase of 15 minutes)
- Premises with function rooms are able to apply for 1am Sunday to Wednesday which is an increase from 11pm. Perth are strict when it comes to dealing with function rooms and will only give this to bona fide functions rooms when operating as such.
- Overprovision remains in force for pubs (wet led) in the City Centre.
- The Board wishes applicants to compete an appendix for new licence and major variation applications detailing how each licence objective will be upheld
- General rules on hours etc remain unchanged.
- General rules on hours etc remain unchanged.
- Details on when early opening hours for on sales of alcohol at food-led premises, distilleries, breweries and specialist off sales premises will be allowed and the conditions they will be subject to upon grant
- What televised events may be screened using extended hours applications
- Additional rules for occasional licence applications at premises for which a provisional licence have been granted and confirmation awaited
- new policy allowing children aged 12 or above unaccompanied access to family-friendly restaurants provided certain control measures are in place
- Overprovision remains restricted to large off-sales (i.e. over 40m2 of alcohol display) – no on-sales overprovision.
Gambling news
Perhaps in light of recent press reports of a lottery for a house being cancelled due to Gambling Commission intervention, the Commission have published on their website guidance as to what may constitute unregulated and unlicensed gambling.
It is important that anyone considering promoters a raffle or lottery seeks independent legal advice at an early stage of the platform’s development. It should be noted that lotteries or raffles cannot be run for private or commercial gain and in any case must comply with the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005 and will in many cases require some sort of permission from the licensing authority or Gambling Commission.
Many promoters seek to remove the raffle or lottery from the ambit of the Gambling Act 2005 by developing a free draw or prize competition. The above noted link from the Commission sets out various considerations when doing this.
The Gambling Commission has introduced a streamlined PFL application service. The changes, not only to the online forms, but also to the back of house processing of applications is expected to result in a more easy to navigate and streamlined process, which includes text and email alerts to keep applicants informed of progress of their applications.
PFLs are required for anyone taking on one of the following roles at a casino:
- dealer/croupier
- cashier
- inspector
- pit boss/gaming supervisor
- security staff/monitoring surveillance related to gambling activities.
Applicants can still expect to wait around 8 weeks for issue of their PFL, from the date of submission, with the cost of application being £185. A criminal check with the Disclosure Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland will be required as part of the application process, so applicants need to factor this into the timeframes.
This is the first step in an ongoing exercise to streamline other personal and management licence processes.
More information about applying for a PFL
Out and about
A busy start to the new year and we are primed and ready to represent our clients up and down the country.
This month we have had successes at Edinburgh and Glasgow Licensing Committees and the following Licensing Boards – Aberdeen City; Fife; South Ayrshire; Glasgow; Perth; Dundee and Edinburgh.
This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at February 2019. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.
