Hansard

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The amendments in the group increase fine levels for the failure of a holder of a premises licence or a personal licence and an applicant for a personal licence to notify the licensing board of a conviction for a relevant offence. We consider that both sets of fine levels have...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

My predecessor, Tavish Scott, explained to the committee at stage 1 that the appeals provisions had not been fully worked up when the bill was introduced. That was because we were still in consultation with the sheriffs principal about how those provisions should operate. We h...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Paul Martin made the point that current operating hours under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 permit someone in Edinburgh or Glasgow to buy alcohol 24 hours a day. Among my visits to hostelries in Edinburgh, I have visited the Scotsman bar in the High Street. It opens at 6 o...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

First, on amendment 21, I will deal with the concerns that have been raised about the premises manager and the management of the pub or business. The terminology might be misleading, because the term "premises manager" in the bill refers to the personal licence holder; it does...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The amendments in this group seek to adjust sections 86 and 107 to allow certain persons physically to remove from premises persons who are there in breach of an exclusion order or who are being disorderly.Section 86 deals with persons who enter premises in breach of an exclus...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I am happy to respond to the concerns, as the issue is important and is causing some concern to the industry. I will start by placing the issue in context. We must be clear that, under the proposed new system, premises licences will be granted in perpetuity and three-year lice...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The amendments in the name of David Davidson seek to remove the ability of licensing boards to protect their communities from the undesirable consequences of there being too many licensed premises. A frequent complaint from constituents and the police is that areas have reache...

The Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business (George Lyon): LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I share David Davidson's objective, but I hope that he will see that, as I will explain, we have already taken cognisance of it and provided for it in the bill.The amendments seek to ensure that a change in the premises manager does not require a variation of the premises lice...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The amendments will ensure that boards must give notice of all their key decisions to applicants and to the chief constable and—in relation to premises licence and occasional licence applications—to any person who objected or made representations. Furthermore, boards will be r...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Executive amendment 21 provides that no individual may be a premises manager of more than one premises at a time. The amendment ensures that each premises has a person who can be held responsible for its day-to-day running and that that position cannot be held by a manager who...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The bill already allows ministers to prescribe offences that are to be relevant offences for the purposes of the new licensing regime. Amendment 94 will go one step further and allow the persistent commission of a lower-level offence—which would not by itself be sufficiently s...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 167 is unnecessary. A provisional premises licence is a type of premises licence. Accordingly, references in sections 27 to 33 to a premises licence already cover a provisional premises licence. That means that a provisional premises licence may be varied or transfer...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I am fully aware of the concerns that were raised by ACPOS and by the committee during stage 1 about what is considered to be a limited role for the police in objecting to premises licence applications under the new system. That is reflected in David Davidson's amendments 141,...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Once again, the Executive's amendments recognise that new developments in the sale of alcohol are always taking place. They will ensure that businesses that operate from moving vehicles can be adequately licensed under the new regime by either a premises or occasional licence....

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 22 is intended to clarify our policy on the important issue of access of children to licensed premises. We originally intended to deal with the issue through the Scottish ministers' powers under section 19 to stipulate by regulations and by guidance what had to go in...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The committee is clearly concerned about this issue. The argument comes down to the same question that was raised in the previous discussion: should we trust local boards to respond to the needs of their communities or should we impose decisions from the centre?Michael McMahon...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 171 is consequential to amendment 22, which was dealt with last week. It seeks to bring occasional licence applications into line with premises licence applications by setting out the minimum information to be contained in the draft operating plan for occasional lice...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I do not know where to start, so I will start at the beginning. Many of the concerns are about unforeseen consequences and changes to the operating plan after the licence has been applied for. Under the 1976 act, people apply for a new licence every three years. Most businesse...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

As currently drafted, section 20(1) places a duty on licensing boards to ensure that an application for a premises licence is notified to the council within whose area the premises are situated. However, in cases in which the applicant is the council, it would be inappropriate...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Section 7(3) of the bill requires licensing boards, as part of their overprovision assessment, to have regard to the number and capacity of licensed premises in a locality. Section 19(4), as amended during stage 2, will require applicants for a premises licence to state the ca...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

These amendments bring us back to an issue that was raised in the previous debate. There has been much discussion about occasional extensions of licensed hours under the new system. Occasional extensions are a feature of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, which allows licensin...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I will try to answer all the points. Andrew Arbuckle asked from where the definition of capacity—especially maximum capacity—would come. Building control uses a formula for that, which can tell you the maximum capacity of any building. That is why we have relied on that being ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendments 139, 140 and 145 would require the police to submit a report listing antisocial behaviour around the vicinity of premises applying for a new premises licence. I am sympathetic to what Paul Martin is trying to deliver with amendment 139. It is important that licensin...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendments 51 to 54 are technical amendments to schedules 3 and 4. The operating plan or occasional licence must state the times during which alcohol is to be sold on a premises. The amendments clarify the position to the effect that the mandatory condition that alcohol must b...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 13 seeks to correct an inconsistency between the procedures for applying for personal and premises licences. It replicates for premises licence applicants the requirement under section 66 for personal licence applicants to notify the licensing board of any conviction...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The bill provides for different procedures on the variations to a premises licence, depending on whether the variation is a minor variation, which I spoke about earlier, or a major variation. Minor variations are simply notified to the board and automatically approved. The bil...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The committee's report noted the concerns of the ferry operators about their proposed inclusion in the new licensing regime. The subject is of great interest to me. Last week, at the committee's request, I set out our proposed policy for ferries. Executive amendments 180, 183 ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The committee raised some concerns over how rural petrol stations would be dealt with under the new licensing system. The committee did not wish to see such petrol stations being penalised unduly if they doubled as the only local shop. We made a commitment at stage 1 to re-exa...

The Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business (George Lyon): LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Concerns were raised by the national licensing forum about licensing standards officers' access to information and documents under section 15. It felt that, as drafted, the powers are too great and might allow LSOs to access documents and other articles that are not directly r...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Feb 2007

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005: Draft Guidance for Licensing Boards and Local Authorities (SE/2007/9)

There seems to be some confusion about what the six-month period relates to. It relates not to the consideration of individual licence applications, but to the consideration of all the licences that come up for renewal in a specific timescale. As you know, the current cycle is...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 29 is a technical amendment that makes it absolutely clear that, when determining an application for a premises licence, licensing boards must take the operating plan in the documents specified in section 19(2)(b) into account. In his submission to the committee at s...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

At stage 2, the Local Government and Transport Committee accepted three amendments from Paul Martin that will place a mandatory duty on the police to submit to the licensing board a report on all premises that apply for a premises licence, detailing antisocial behaviour, or co...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

It has always been the Executive's intention to provide in regulations a set of discretionary licensing conditions for late-opening premises that licensing boards can draw on as appropriate. The conditions that were proposed by a majority of members of the expert reference gro...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I assure Bruce Crawford that I am very much seized by the concerns that he has expressed. Amendment 4 seeks to introduce graduated fees by reference both to size and type of premises. Unfortunately, it would not give us the flexibility that he desires, because it would limit t...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill

I thought that would please some members.In the short period for which I have been responsible for licensing, I have been committed to taking forward this reform and I remain so. I believe that Scotland deserves a licensing system that meets both the needs and the expectations...

The Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business (George Lyon): LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Thank you for your introduction. I am happy that I will be working with the committee over the next few weeks on this important bill.The amendments in the group are technical and aim to move away from the current definition of wholesale transactions that do not need to be cove...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

This debate should be relatively short.The bill sets out a short procedure for the determination and grant of occasional licences that allow events to take place outwith licensed premises. This is the first time that a procedure for occasional licence has been set out, and as ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Executive amendments 181 and 182 are technical amendments to further clarify the exemption for premises that are occupied by the armed forces—such as forces canteens—from the requirement to hold a premises licence.I move amendment 181.

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendments 41 to 47 further refine the definition of capacity that was inserted into the bill at stage 2. Information about capacity is required to be included in operating plans and boards must take capacity into account in their assessments of overprovision.The amendments in...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I, too, have sympathy with the concerns that lie behind amendment 160, but I stress that our proposals for a new licensing system deal with the issues and concerns, which Paul Martin has consistently raised, about problems in Glasgow and other parts of the country. The new sys...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The point about licensed premises when there is a wedding will be dealt with in subsequent amendments. In relation to Mr Sheridan's point, I say that the issue is about getting the balance right. As he well knows, many voluntary bodies rely on being able to hold one fundraisin...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Trains will be exempt from the need to have a premises licence. The reason why vessels are mentioned in amendment 179 is to remove certain notification requirements for them. The amendments that we produce next week will differentiate between the so-called party vessels—which ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Executive amendments 107 to 109 are technical. They were lodged following recommendations by the Subordinate Legislation Committee, which I am happy to take on board. Executive amendment 107 lists orders and regulations that will not be subject to the negative procedure. They ...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am gobsmacked by Bruce Crawford's call to make the bill less prescriptive. I am sure that we will see whether he wishes it to be less prescriptive when it comes to the vote on certain matters later on.Amendment 61 is not needed. It seeks to remove the requirement to trade du...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

08 Mar 2007

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE · Challenge 21

The roll-out of test purchasing throughout Scotland will mean that all off-sales and on-sales premises will need to ensure that they require people who buy alcohol to prove that they are the right age on a no proof, no sale basis. Test purchasing is the real driver in ensuring...

George Lyon: LD Committee

13 Feb 2007

Transposition and Implementation of European Directives Inquiry

I understand your concerns about that regulation. I certainly do not think that it is beyond the realms of possibility to change things if they are felt to be disproportionate or inappropriate. On NVZs, unlike in England and Wales, we have not adopted a blanket approach right ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 20 seeks to give ministers the necessary power to prescribe national training requirements for LSOs and, in particular, to accredit course content or course providers. The amendment mirrors similar provisions in the bill that provide for ministers to prescribe and ac...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Paul Martin expressed concern about the licence conditions. Those conditions will be set out in the regulations that will be published in due course. If it will help, given some of the issues that have been raised, I can write to the committee to set out the matter in black an...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Since I took over my current portfolio, I have been keen to ensure that we introduce some form of test purchasing to underpin the no-proof, no-sale policy in the legislation, which is essential if we are to tackle underage drinking properly. Quite rightly, the Lord Advocate ha...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

The amendments are designed to ensure that petrol stations that also sell groceries and provide other amenities can retain a licence that defines them as the sole source of groceries and petrol in that vicinity. I am not sure exactly what Mr Davidson is referring to.

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

To ensure that there is no dubiety, I state that the provision is intended to be a routine measure that the licensing boards can use to determine whether there is a local need for the particular licence application. We are trying to set out the circumstances in which the board...

George Lyon: LD Committee

24 Apr 2001

Fuel Prices in<br />Remoter Rural Areas

I was one of the members of the small group that was nominated from the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee to carry out the face-to-face discussions with the oil companies on the breakdown of prices, and to try to get to the bottom of why there is such a huge different...

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): LD Chamber

05 Apr 2001

Foot-and-mouth Disease

On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I welcome the minister's statement, which has laid out clearly the strategy the Executive is pursuing, not only for the livestock sector and for farming communities, but for the wider interests of tourism and the countryside in general. Most...

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): LD Chamber

12 Nov 2003

Terrestrial TV Channels<br />(Rural Areas)

I add my congratulations to John Farquhar Munro on bringing the matter to the chamber. During my summer tour with my colleague Alan Reid, the issue was one of the most frequently raised matters, certainly among the reserved issues that my colleague covers. Many constituents ca...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

ACPOS and the committee expressed concern at stage 1 about the right of licensing standards officers to enter and inspect unlicensed premises. I agree that we should not place LSOs in situations that could expose them to danger, so we have lodged amendment 15 to remove that po...

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Our intention is that such changes to the layout of premises would be deemed to be a minor variation.

George Lyon: LD Committee

20 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Amendment 35 and consequential amendments 32, 33, 36 and 37 introduce the new policy of extending to off-sales some of the controls on irresponsible on-sales promotions. The committee identified that matter as a key concern and, recognising the consensus of opinion, we agreed ...

George Lyon: LD Committee

27 Sep 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

This is already the situation under the 1976 act. Licensees and their staff have been working closely with the police for many years on how to evict drunks and deal with such matters and it is not for us to be prescriptive in that area. Clearly, the staff concerned will have t...

George Lyon: LD Committee

03 Oct 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Executive amendments 91, 92, 111 and 120 are technical. They will introduce a tighter definition of a railway vehicle to remove any doubt about the treatment of underground trains and trams. Underground trains will be treated in the same way as trains are and defined as exempt...

George Lyon: LD Chamber

16 Nov 2005

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Executive amendments 8, 19, 27 and 49 are technical and provide clarification that hybrid premises that offer both on-sales and off-sales services could have different hours for the different services.I move amendment 8.