« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
ANNEX
9. Notes on statistics used in this bulletin
Sources of Data
9.1 The statistics relating to liquor licences in force
in Scotland presented in this bulletin have been provided
by local authority licensing boards. Statistics on the
number of registered clubs are also included; these have
been provided by Sheriff Courts since 1997. The figures
included in this bulletin on numbers of liquor licences per
10,000 resident population aged 18 and over use the
relevant mid-year population estimates prepared by the
General Register Office for Scotland (
GROS). The rates calculated for 2004 use
the mid-2003 population estimates as the mid-year
population estimates for 2004 are not yet available.
(Bulletins published prior to 2001 used total population
estimates, also prepared by
GROS).
9.2 The data presented in Table 11 are taken from the
aggregate recorded crime statistics collected by the
Scottish Executive Justice Department (
SEJD). The figures in Table 12 are
derived from data held on the
SEJD court proceedings database.
Licencing Legislation
9.3 The central collection of licensing statistics,
previously discontinued in 1982, was resumed in 1991 to
assist monitoring of the effect of Part III of the Law
Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990. The
main reforms included the introduction of the children's
certificate, which permits children under 14 to accompany
adults for a meal in a public house or hotel within an
environment that the licensing board considers suitable for
children. Boards have also been able from 1 January 1991 to
grant extensions of permitted hours for public houses on
Sundays to cover the afternoon period between 2:30pm and
6:30pm and the late evening after 11pm. The 1990 Act
applied a tighter control however on the granting of late
night extensions, requiring applicants to demonstrate that
there is both a demand for the extension in their area and
that the extension will not be of detriment to the
community. The collection of statistics on children's
certificates was discontinued following a review of
licensing statistics in 1997.
9.4 The Licensing (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 1996
introduced powers for licensing boards to impose conditions
on licences for premises where certain events are likely to
take place (particularly dance events). The conditions,
which came into force in October 1996, are specifically for
the purpose of safeguarding the health and safety of those
attending the relevant event. This measure does not impact
on the statistics in this bulletin.
9.5 There are various types of licence available, which
authorise the holder to sell alcohol under different
conditions. The definitions for these are set out fully in
Schedule I to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976. In summary
they are:
a public house licence, authorising the licence holder
to sell alcohol for consumption on or off the premises.
an off-sale licence, authorising the holder to sell
alcohol for consumption off the premises only.
a hotel licence, authorising the holder to sell alcohol
in a hotel for consumption on or off the premises.
a restricted hotel licence, allowing the holder to:-
(i) sell alcohol to people taking a
table meal there for consumption with the meal;
(ii) sell alcohol to people residing
there, for consumption on the premises by them or friends
entertained at their expense.
The premises cannot have a bar counter.
a restaurant licence, for premises normally used for
serving meals where there is no bar counter and drink is
served only with the food.
a refreshment licence, allowing cafe-style premises to
serve alcoholic drinks with food, and to admit children
under 14 until 8pm, provided they are accompanied by a
person of 18 or over.
an entertainment licence, intended mainly for places
like cinemas, theatres and dance halls and restricting the
sale of alcohol to patrons. The sale or supply of alcohol
should be ancillary to the entertainment provided.
9.6 Grounds for refusal of an
application for a liquor licence under section 17 of the
Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 are as follows:
(a) that the applicant, or the person on whose behalf or
for whose benefit the applicant will manage the premises
or, in the case of an application to which section 11 of
this Act applies, the applicant or agent named in the
application, is not a fit and proper person to be the
holder of the licence;
(b) that the premises to which the application relates
are not suitable or convenient for the sale of alcoholic
liquor, having regard to their location, their character
and condition, and the person likely to resort to the
premises;
(c) that the use of the premises for the sale of
alcoholic liquor is likely to cause undue public nuisance,
or a threat to public order or safety;
(d) that, having regard to
(i) the number of licensed premises in the locality
at the time the application is considered; and
(ii) the number of premises in respect of which the
provisional grant of a new licence is in force, the
board is satisfied that the grant of the application
would result in the over provision of licensed premises
in the locality.
An application may be refused on one or more of the
grounds listed above.
Other
9.7 There is no direct relationship between the number
of offences recorded by the police and the number of court
disposals. Where offences are recorded and cleared up by
the police, the outcome of procurator fiscal or other
action does not necessarily occur in the same year.
Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible
options the procurator fiscal has for dealing with persons
who have been charged. Other actions include fiscal
warnings, diversion to social work, conditional offers,
fixed penalties, sending cases to the Reporter to the
Children's Panel or a decision to take no proceedings.
9.8 The following symbols are used throughout the tables
in this bulletin:
- Nil * Less than 0.5 n/a Not
available
9.9 The percentage figures given in tables and charts
have been independently rounded, so they may not always sum
to the relevant sub-totals or totals.
« Previous | Contents | Next »