This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Licensing laws under scrutiny
05/11/2001
Scotland's licensing laws came under scrutiny today in a
conference at Edinburgh City Chambers.
The conference 'Modernising Scotland's Licensing Laws'
was organised by the Scottish Forum for Modern Government
in association with McGrigor Donald Solicitors. The issues
highlighted were:
- children and alcohol
- licensing red tape
- pubs, clubs and societies
- fitness to hold a license
Deputy Justice Minister Iain Gray said the Executive had
set up a committee under Sheriff Principal Nicholson to
review licensing laws and that it had issued a consultation
paper on the subject. He said:
"We are committed to improving Scotland's health and
tackling the root causes of violence and one of the ways of
doing this is through improving our licensing laws. That is
why we have set up the Nicholson committee to review all
aspects of liquor licensing law and practice in Scotland
and it has been asked to pay particular attention to health
and public order implications.
"Holding a licence in Scotland is a privilege and
mis-management can have dire consequences. It is vital
therefore that licensing laws take account of changes in
society and we must strike a balance between the right of
individuals to enjoy a drink, the need to discourage them
from excessive drinking and the rights of communities not
to be disturbed by licensed premises.
"The review being carried out by the Nicholson Committee
will examine how we can promote healthy drinking patterns
and how to break the links between binge drinking and
street violence."
The appointment of the committee on liquor licensing
law, chaired by Sheriff Principal Nicholson, was announced
by Deputy Minister for Justice, Iain Gray.
The Nicholson Committee met for the first time on the 1
st August this year and will not report before
early 2003.