With the Westminster Government reviewing the role of the personal licence, our resident legal expert takes a look at the possible implications of such a move, how it could influence in Holyrood and what that could mean for the thousands of local retailers in Scotland who are personal licence holders.
by Stephen McGowan
It is surprising to see that Westminster has released a consultation with a view to abolishing personal licences in England & Wales. The personal licence is a central tenet of both the English and Scottish licensing systems. With the prevailing anti-alcohol culture of the mainstream media, coupled with criticism of the licensed trade from some political quarters, it seems incredible that a fundamental control on the sale of alcohol could be removed.
As far as I know, there hasn’t been a barrage of requests from the industry for personal licences to be abolished, so why the consultation? A personal licence is a badge of training and responsibility. It indicates that the holder has a certain level of understanding and awareness concerning the sale of alcohol. It provides comfort that sales are supervised by an appropriate person. All of these are positive things that the trade supports because it represents how seriously they take their obligations.
It seems that the suggestion to abolish personal licences has emanated from the Westminster drive to reduce red-tape but in my view it has not been thought through. Abolishing personal licences would result in local councils reverting to other forms of control such as attaching more stringent conditions on some premises as opposed to others. This would lead to a stratification of training levels, where some premises will have to do undergo training when others do not, and some will have more onerous conditions than others, applied on a geographical rather than detrimental basis. It would mean local and multiple operators will have to comply with certain duties in some premises but not in others. It would also decimate the national training framework and standards.
The proposal is also concerning because it removes a level of accountability. In England, as with north of the border, if you wish to be named as a manager on a premises licence you need to hold a personal licence (in England they call this person the “designated premises supervisor”). If misdeeds occur, then that personal licence can be looked into, suspended or revoked. With personal licences abolished, how would police or other parties seek to bring the erring individual to book?
At a time when the trade is regularly under fire from prohibitionists and emotive headlines, and when photos of the ubiquitous “bench girl” are a commonality, it is confusing that the Government should look to end personal licences. It seems to be some sort of sop to the idea that trade is huddling under a Damocles sword of red-tape and bureaucracy. Whilst this is absolutely true, ending personal licences is not the way to help the trade. Ending a system that encourages best practice and responsibility is not in the interests of the trade or the general public and this should be re-thought.
It is all the more alarming when you consider the Scottish approach to personal licences, which imposes greater requirements upon the licence holders, especially as regards training. SLR readers will now be well aware of the “refresher” training requirement which exists in Scotland. Anyone with a personal licence issued on or before 1st September 2009 must take and pass the new refresher course by 31st August 2014, and submit the certificate along with their personal licence details to the relevant licensing board within three months thereafter. I take the opportunity to remind all personal licences that there is nothing to stop the course being taken now and in fact I would urge you all to get booked up straight away.
With this process in full flow, and refresher courses now being undertaken (I sat the course myself a couple of months ago), the idea of abolishing personal licences is clearly the furthest thing from the collective wisdom of the Scottish Parliament. It is encouraging to see that the UK Government is at least cognisant of the fact that red-tape is an issue for the trade. With no comparable proposal on the cards on Scotland, can we look forward to anything similar? The Scottish Parliament will be dealing with a new Licensing Bill in 2014, following a consultation, but this was influenced in the main by requests from alcohol harm charities and the police, with little attention paid to technical issues and the red-tape which stymies Scottish operators. The Scottish Government has, however, indicated it is open to listen to all concerns. We shall see.
