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Off-sales in the Community

Acknowledgements

Working Group on Off-sales in the Community

Membership

Chairman

Mr Peter Daniels, Chief Executive, East Renfrewshire Council

Members

Mr Stephen Bermingham, Scottish Youth Parliament
Mr Peter Cheema, Khalsa Consulting Ltd & Director, Central Scotland Racial Equality Council
Superintendent George Clelland, Strathclyde Police
Mr Justin Farrell, Policy Group, Crown Office
Mr Ian Gordon, Association of Scottish Community Councils
Councillor John Hendry, Stirling Council
Mr Scott Landsburgh, Chief Executive, Scottish Grocers' Federation
Mr John Loudon, Convenor, Law Society of Scotland Committee on Liquor Licensing
Mr Robert Millar, Clerk to the City of Edinburgh Licensing Board
Ms Fiona Moriarty, Director, Scottish Retail Consortium
Dr Maggie Watts, Chairperson, Scottish Association of Alcohol Action Teams
Mr Paul Waterson, Chief Executive, Scottish Licensed Trade Association

Secretariat

Mr Paul Cackette, Scottish Executive Justice Department
Ms Jacqueline Conlan, Scottish Executive Justice Department
Mr Anthony Rednall, Scottish Executive Justice Department

INTRODUCTION

Remit

1.1 On 2 September 2003 the First Minister, Jack McConnell, announced the formation of a short life Working Group with the following terms of reference -

"In the light of the evidence from Sheriff Principal Nicholson's Review of Liquor Licensing, and from consultation on the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, to consider the issues surrounding the regulation of off-licences and to make recommendations to Ministers on:

• The scope for better engagement and consultation at community level on the grant of licences; and
• Management and enforcement mechanisms which will help to prevent off-licences being a focus of anti-social behaviour".

The Group was asked to report by the end of the year, so that Ministers could consider its recommendations in parallel with the outcome of the consultation on the Nicholson Report.

Background

1.2 The Scottish Executive launched the Nicholson Committee's Review of Liquor Licensing Law in Scotland on 19 August 2003. In welcoming the report, Ministers announced they would be seeking comments until Christmas 2003 on the report and its recommendations. The Committee, chaired by Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson, had been set up on 28 June 2001 by the Deputy First Minister, Jim Wallace, with the following remit:

"To review all aspects of liquor licensing law and practice in Scotland, with particular reference to the implications for health and public order; to recommend changes in the public interest; and to report accordingly".

1.3 The Nicholson Report sets out a framework of licensing principles that should inform all the decisions taken by a licensing board. Those principles (which were warmly endorsed by all sides at a Scottish Parliamentary debate on the report on 17 September 2003) are:

• The prevention of crime or disorder;
• The promotion of public safety;
• The prevention of public nuisance;
• The promotion of public health; and
• The protection of children from harm.

1.4 The report sets out proposals for a simpler and more user-friendly licensing system, but also one where rigorous controls would still be exercised. Both personal and premises licences would be required and licensing boards would take decisions on the basis of a detailed operating plan for the premises in question. Boards would be able to refuse or amend an application even if there were no objections. New liquor licensing standards officers would act as the 'eyes and ears' of the boards in monitoring the way in which licensed premises were run and ensuring that abuse was identified and dealt with quickly. The report made clear that further detailed work on enforcement would be required by the Scottish Executive. The Nicholson Report also recommended the formation of statutory local licensing forums to allow the various interests to keep the licensing system in their area under review and to meet the licensing board at least once a year. These interests would include residents' groups or associations.

1.5 Over the summer the Scottish Executive consulted on Putting our Communities First: A Strategy for Tackling Anti - Social Behaviour, which was published on 26 June 2003. As part of that consultation Ministers visited over 30 constituencies at the request of local MSPs to hear from local people about their experiences of anti-social behaviour and to hear views on the Executive's proposals.

1.6 Many people raised with Ministers a concern that local off-licences can act as a focal point for anti - social behaviour. In Cumnock, Ministers were told, to applause from the audience, that "off-licences were the single largest contributory factor [in anti-social behaviour]"; in Leven, alcohol from off-licences was said to be a serious factor in anti-social behaviour by young people; while in Dundee, concern was expressed that not enough was being done to tackle those off-licences and corner shops that were selling alcohol to young people. Similar comments were made throughout the country.

1.7 Ministers, therefore, concluded that within the tighter new framework for the granting of licences set out in the Nicholson Report there was a need for some further work on two aspects of off-licence regulation:

• The extent to which local people have an effective say on the grant of licences in their area; and
• Management or enforcement mechanisms that will ensure that any problems are quickly identified and effectively dealt with.

What is an off-sales licence?

1.8 The main piece of legislation concerning off-sales is the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the 1976 Act). This states that an off-sales licence 'is a licence granted in respect of premises specified therein which authorises the holder thereof to sell by retail alcoholic liquor for consumption off the premises only'.

1.9 All licences have effect until the quarterly meeting of the licensing board three years after the meeting at which the licence was granted or renewed. At present the permitted hours for the operation of an off-sales licence are as follows:

• Monday to Saturday 8.00am until 10.00pm;
• Sunday 12.30pm to 10.00pm.

Number of liquor licences in force in Scotland

Liquor licences in force at 31 December 2002 in Scotland by licence type ¹

1.10 Over a third of all licences in Scotland are for off-sale premises. The number of these licences has grown by around 30 per cent since 1980 although the figure has remained fairly steady at around 6,350 since 1996. The increase in off-sales licences suggests that a significantly larger quantity of alcohol is now being purchased for consumption away from on-licensed premises than was formerly the case.

Health & Crime figures

1.11 There are some general statistics available which provide information on the links between alcohol and crime. A Home Office report of 2000 estimated that 40% of violent crime, 78% of assaults and 88% of criminal damage cases were committed while the offender was under the influence of alcohol. An Omnibus Survey, which tested public opinion on licensing laws and alcohol consumption, carried out by Scottish Executive Social Research in 2003, showed that 94% of those surveyed believed there was a problem with under-age drinking in Scotland. Interestingly, all of the 16-17 year olds surveyed agreed with this (para 3.24).

1.12 Other statistics have recently become available through the Scottish Schools and Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) National Report, produced for the Scottish Executive by the University of Edinburgh. This is a survey, published in November 2003, of smoking, drinking and drug use among 13 and 15 year olds in Scotland in 2002. The report shows, inter alia, that -

- 88% of 15 year olds and 69% of 13 year olds have had a "proper alcoholic drink";
- there has been a 60% increase in reported drinking among 15 year olds and more than a 100% rise in drinking in 13 year olds over the last 12 years;
- 44% of 15 year olds and 24% of 13 year olds reported drinking once a week, or more often;
- although it is illegal to sell alcohol to under-18s (and for under-18s to buy or attempt to buy alcohol), shops and off-licences were the most frequently reported source of alcohol for 15 year olds. 31% reported buying alcohol from shops and supermarkets and 23% reported buying from off-licences. It is worth noting, however, that 30% reported that they never buy alcohol;
- 35% of 15 year olds reported that their most common location of drinking was outdoors (street, park, or other outdoor area).

1.13 The SALSUS National Report also obtained information for the first time on both drunkenness and the harmful effects of drinking alcohol (vomiting, fighting, injury, absence from school, use of drugs, unprotected sex). Over 75% of 15 year olds and over 50% of 13 year olds reported having been drunk at least once in the last 30 days. 39% of 15 year olds and 60% of 13 year olds had not experienced any of the harmful effects listed. However, 21% of 15 year olds and 9% of 13 year olds had experienced 3 or more effects.

Our Approach

1.14 Our intention was to produce a short focused report which acknowledged and built on the foundations set out by the Nicholson Committee. Although our remit specified a closer look at aspects of off-sale regulation, because of the nature of liquor licensing laws it became clear early on that some of our recommendations would have wider ranging effect. It is difficult, for example, to consider the role of communities in relation to off-sale licences separately from their role in relation to licences given to pubs and nightclubs. Of course, the Nicholson Report recommends in any case that there should in future be only one premises licence. ² Our report makes it clear which recommendations would have wider impact and we hope to see them considered in this light.

1.15 Due to the demanding remit and tight timescale, we decided to make use of already existing information and the wide personal knowledge of the individual members of the Working Group.

1.16 Despite the more recent information that has become available over the last two years or so, there is a lack of statistical evidence to illustrate the extent of the problem of off-licences as a focus for anti-social behaviour. This is, understandably, a source of frustration to the licensed trade and something we feel the Scottish Executive should seek to address. We have had to rely, therefore, on much of the material which informed the Nicholson Committee in their deliberations and the information which formed the basis of the Scottish Executive's Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems. These, together with the findings of Ministers on their summer visits to constituencies and the responses to the Scottish Executive's consultation on Anti Social Behaviour, have informed our discussion and led to our recommendations.

1.17 The Group formed two sub-groups, one to consider the needs of communities, the other to consider enforcement issues. These sub-groups met twice and contributed their findings to the full Working Group. The full Group met four times on 7 October, 4 November, 2 December and 23 December 2003.

1.18 We understand that Scottish Ministers will consider our findings alongside the Nicholson recommendations. Since our approach has been to build on these recommendations, we hope that it will be seen as a useful contribution to the review of Liquor Licensing Law in Scotland and will help in the design and implementation of a more effective, fair and transparent system.

1.19 We have divided our report into five chapters. Following this introduction, Chapter 2 extracts and reiterates those recommendations from the Nicholson Report which, if implemented will impact on the regulation and operation of off-sales. The next two chapters deal with our specific remit. Chapter 3 considers how people could and should be engaged and consulted on the provision of off sales within their communities. Chapter 4 contains our recommendations with regard to management and enforcement mechanisms that might help to address any anti-social behaviour problems associated with off-sales. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises our recommendations.

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