Hansard

The bill is wide ranging and far reaching, and it is important that it is subject to scrupulous scrutiny in the Parliament. The scale of the bill’s ambition, however, leads me to believe that it would have been far better if it had been divided into smaller parts, so that each area could have been scrutinised as closely as possible. The provisions in the bill could easily have formed the larger part of several bills. When the Scottish Government considers issues of this significance in future, it should deal with them in discrete bills, to ensure that the Parliament’s legislation is as robust and effective as possible.

The licensing of the ownership of air weapons is a hugely important topic. I am sure each of us can recall the tragic cases that have been in the news over the years of air weapons leading to deaths and serious injuries. The approach adopted in the bill is therefore to be broadly supported. It is important that we keep in mind that there are some, albeit very limited, reasons for people to own and use air weapons. Shooting sports are as legitimate as any other and we should avoid stigmatising people who choose to participate in them. We must, however, remember that air weapons are weapons. We cannot allow further tragedies to take place across Scotland involving air weapons. I am pleased that there is cross-party agreement on this topic—or at least there was until today’s debate. I hope that we can get that cross-party agreement back.

As the committee noted, it is important that there is a well-funded and well-implemented publicity campaign across the country to ensure that all those affected by the changes that are contained in this long and fairly technical bill are aware of the implications of the new regime. Many people own an air weapon and no other form of firearm and might therefore be unaware of the conditions for applying for and holding a firearms certificate.

We would all agree that the current regime for the regulation of adult entertainment venues is inadequate. The question that is central to the bill is whether it goes far enough. I agree entirely with the principle of leaving to local authorities the last word on whether an adult entertainment venue receives a licence. As a former councillor, I believe that it is important that democratic accountability on a ward level combined with councillors’ experience in making various quasi-judicial decisions is utilised in relation to such venues. Local authorities currently can decide only whether an adult entertainment venue is permitted a licence for the provision of alcohol. It is only proper that local authorities are empowered to evaluate whether such venues should be allowed in the first place. I endorse Elaine Murray’s comments about extending that power to cover other sorts of venues such as betting shops and perhaps payday loan shops.

There are those who would like the bill to go much further, and those voices should be heard in the bill’s future stages. The bill deals with an important moral question and we should strive to ensure that those with strong feelings on the topic are able to put forward their case. We should also examine the apparent loophole regarding holding fewer than four events of an adult nature a year. If the legislation can be circumvented with such ease, it is hardly worth implementing in the first place.

I turn to the bill’s proposed changes to alcohol licensing. The abuse of alcohol is an enormous problem right across the country. Scottish Government-funded research has estimated that the costs of alcohol misuse in Scotland are somewhere between £2,883 million and £5,396 million per year. It is imperative, therefore, that our licensing scheme is appropriate, robust and effective. The bill seeks to amend fairly old legislation. It would have been preferable for the Scottish Government to introduce a less piecemeal and more fundamental set of reforms for alcohol licensing in Scotland. We should look more broadly at how effective the current regime is across the country. Future Governments will have to examine the issue in a more fundamental way, sooner or later.

The remainder of the bill deals with a series of highly specific forms of licensing. I return to my previous point that the bill is far too broad for us to properly scrutinise all its provisions, but I will briefly mention two key elements of the remainder of the bill.

The taxi licensing scheme has always been predicated on the idea that taxis have a significant business advantage, as they are able to accept bookings on the spot. However, that benefit has been reduced by the near-universal use of mobile phones. It is widely accepted that most journeys of this nature are now pre-booked. It appears that that trend is set to continue with the advent of taxi-booking mobile phone apps.

Those technological advances call into question the entire approach that has been adopted for the licensing of taxis in Scotland. Recognising that, however, we can still say that the specific provisions that are contained in the bill are acceptable and should be approved by the Parliament.

The proposed changes to the regulation of scrap metal dealing also seem sensible. They are very similar to the approach that has been adopted in England, which seems to work well. With that in mind, I see no reason to oppose the changes that the bill proposes.

All in all, the bill seems acceptable in principle. As it is technical and applies to many specialist groups, it is important that the Scottish Government listens closely to the concerns and advice of experts in the relevant fields, campaigners and businesses affected by the proposed changes. The Law Society of Scotland in particular has raised several concerns regarding various aspects of the legislation. The Scottish Government should pay close attention to those concerns and amend the legislation accordingly.

The bill deals with several key topics. It is important that we get the level of regulation on them right. Additionally, it is important that we ensure that when such questions are considered in the future, we are able to consider them in greater detail and, where appropriate, in separate legislation.