The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 – Consultation on introducing a fee for applying to renew a personal licence

Closed 15 Aug 2018

Opened 11 Jul 2018

Contact

0131 244 7931

licensing.consultation@gov.scot

Results updated 19 Mar 2019

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Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

The Scottish Government is responsible for regulating the powers of Scottish local authorities and Licensing Boards in relation to licensing the sale of alcohol. Licensing Boards carry out a range of functions, including granting and reviewing licences to sell alcohol in their particular area. This consultation relates to the ‘personal licence’, a key plank of the alcohol licensing regime.

While there is an initial £50 fee to apply for a personal licence, there is currently no fee set in regulations for a renewal application. The Scottish Government believes that there is a strong case for introducing a fee for applying to renew a personal licence to help Licensing Boards across Scotland cover the cost of administration. The purpose of this consultation is to consult on whether to introduce a fee for applying to renew a personal licence, and if we were to introduce such a fee, to seek views on what that fee level should be.

Why your views matter

The Scottish Government is required to consult before any new fee comes into force. We are therefore consulting on whether or not to introduce a fee for applying to renew a personal licence, and whether or not to set that fee at £50.
 
We would welcome views from respondents to the consultation on whether they consider the introduction of a renewal fee to be appropriate, and if so, whether they think the proposed £50 fee level is appropriate, including evidence to support their view.
 
Following this consultation the Scottish Government will analyse the responses and if considered appropriate will draft and lay secondary legislation to update The Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007’ (SSI 2007/553) to embed any new fee into Scottish law.

Any legislative changes would be subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament.
 
We are also welcoming views and evidence to support an alternative fee level being set, or no fee being introduced at all.
 

Interests

  • Arts, Culture and Sport
  • Business, Industry and Innovation
  • Communities and Third Sector
  • Economy
  • Law and Order