Meeting of the Parliament 25 June 2015
In April, we debated and agreed the general principles of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, and today we debate the bill in the form in which we hope it will be enacted. Although there is no formal role for me in this debate, as convener of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee I would like to share the work of the committee and its effectiveness in realising change.
As I pointed out at stage 1, licensing has an important role. It is integral to preserving public order and safety, reducing crime and advancing public health. A key aim of the bill is to improve the efficiency of the licensing regimes, contributing to the creation of a better regulatory environment for business. The bill is wide ranging and covers the creation of new licensing systems in Scotland for the use of air weapons and the operation of sexual entertainment venues. The bill also amends existing licensing systems on alcohol sales, scrap metal dealers, taxis and private car hires, and public entertainment venues. The importance of those regimes and the objectives that they seek to reinforce should not be underplayed.
Our level of engagement with key stakeholders allowed us to make meaningful changes to the bill that will improve the effectiveness of the provisions. For example, the bill now enables the sale of air weapons to customers in the rest of Great Britain; requires alcohol licensing boards to publish annual reports outlining how they have contributed to the licensing objectives; empowers licensing authorities to deal with issues connected to advertising of sexual entertainment venues; updates the definition of metal dealers so as to include those who do not buy metal but sell it; more clearly defines the forms of payment to metal dealers; and provides the legislative framework for the creation of a national database of metal dealers.
The work of the committee has led to major change in the bill from stage 1, and the vast bulk of that work has been pretty co-operative. We have seen where there has been division and mistake because of misunderstandings. I was disappointed that a committee member was briefing against colleagues in the press, and I will be interested to see how some colleagues have voted on certain amendments, particularly amendment 19.
I thank the cabinet secretary for being extremely co-operative as we have tried to get the bill absolutely right. As I said, we have made great moves towards getting it right. I will give one example: the penalties for metal theft. The committee believed that the original proposals on that were far too lenient, but now we have a fine of up to £20,000 and/or up to six months in prison. We have reached that conclusion because of the work of the committee.
The bill now strikes the right balance. It allows businesses and ordinary folk to go about their lives while seeking to prevent or reduce the harm that is caused by people who seek to avoid regulation or to carry out criminal acts. The bill is proportionate to the issues that it tackles, which is why I will vote in favour of it at decision time.
16:31