Part 9 of the Bill - Alcohol licensing
In March 2009 shortly after the introduction of this Bill, the Scottish Government indicated they would bring forward a separate item of legislation containing a number of alcohol related measures including the provisions currently in section 129 of this Bill (sale of alcohol to persons under 21 etc.) and section 140 of this Bill (licensed premises: social responsibility levy). As a result, we intend to seek to remove section 129 and section 140 from this Bill at Stage 2.
The remaining sections in this Bill relating to alcohol licensing includes provisions that will improve the operation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 through modifying a number of the provisions to reduce costs, shorten process times, remove unintended barriers and close loopholes, while ensuring Licensing Boards receive sufficient information on which to base their decisions concerning licences to sell alcohol.