WIREDGOV

A National Statistics release for Scotland.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician has yesterday released Liquor licensing statistics Scotland 2013-14. This is being released as a web table showing information on premises and personal licences in force, applications, reviews/proceedings as well as numbers of licensing standards officers employed.

The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 came fully into force in September 2009 and this release reflects the fourth full year of operation under the new licensing arrangements.

The overall number of premises licences in force on 31 March 2014, at just under 16,300, showed a relatively flat trend across the last four years, increasing only slightly compared with March 2013.

It is difficult to meaningfully compare totals from the most recent four years against historic numbers due to changes in the way licenses are administered under current licensing arrangements. For instance, single licenses for premises which were previously subject to multiple licenses and registered clubs coming under the responsibility of licensing boards rather than sheriff courts. In addition, most local authority licensing boards have put in place new IT systems to manage the implementation of the 2005 Act. There may therefore be some issues of comparability between the early years of the new arrangements although this will continue to lessen as more and more years of data become available.

Some of the other main findings from the data are:

• Just under 70 per cent of premises licenses in force at March 2014 related to licenses which allowed for on sales transactions, with the remaining 31 per cent related to off-sales only.
• Just under half (46 per cent) of applications received for premises licenses in 2013-14 were for off-sale only.
• Three per cent of applications for premises licences under section 23 of the 2005 Act in 2013-14 were refused.

Scottish local authorities employed a full-time equivalent of 61 licensing standards officers at March 2014.

Notes To Editors

1. The web table can be accessed at

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubLiquor.

2. Key changes introduced by the Licensing (Scotland) 2005 Act include:

• Introducing five Licensing Objectives which underlie the Act and all decisions relating to it.
• Replacing all previous licence categories with a single premises licence and a personal licence and occasional licence.
• Inclusion of premises operating plans and layout plans with licence applications.
• Personal licensees must hold an accredited licensing qualification.
• Mandatory training for staff who sell or serve alcohol.

3. Under Section 23 of the 2005 Act, a licensing board is required to hold a hearing for the purposes of considering and determining an application for a premises licence.

4. It should be noted that most local authority licensing boards have put in place new IT systems to manage the changes in procedure, and with the gradual bedding in of these systems, data quality has continued to improve over time. As a result, a small number of local authorities have produced, in addition to their 2013-14 figures, revised figures for 2012-13.

5. This is a National Statistics release for Scotland. Official and National Statistics are produced to professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and are produced free from political interference. More information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About.