- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, Cross Heading: General is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 11 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
(1)The Scottish Ministers may issue guidance to Licensing Boards as to the exercise of their functions under this Act.
(2)The Scottish Ministers may modify any guidance issued by them under subsection (1).
(3)Each Licensing Board must, in the exercise of their functions under this Act, have regard to any guidance issued to them under subsection (1).
(4)Where a Licensing Board decides not to follow any guidance issued under subsection (1), the Board must give the Scottish Ministers notice of the decision together with a statement of the reasons for it.
(5)The first guidance to Licensing Boards under subsection (1) is not to be issued by the Scottish Ministers unless a draft of the guidance has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, the Scottish Parliament.
(6)The Scottish Ministers must lay any subsequent guidance issued by them under subsection (1) before the Parliament.
Commencement Information
I1S. 142 in force at 19.3.2007 by S.S.I. 2007/129, art. 2
(1)This Act binds the Crown.
(2)No contravention by the Crown of any provision made by virtue of this Act makes the Crown criminally liable; but the Court of Session may, on the application of any public body or office-holder having responsibility for enforcing that provision, declare unlawful any act or omission of the Crown which constitutes such a contravention.
(3)However, any provision made by virtue of this Act applies to persons in the public service of the Crown as it applies to other persons.
Commencement Information
I2S. 143 in force at 1.5.2007 by S.S.I. 2007/129, art. 3, Sch.
Schedule 6, which modifies enactments, has effect.
Commencement Information
I3S. 144 in force at 1.5.2007 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2007/129, art. 3, Sch.
The Scottish Ministers may by order make such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision as they consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in consequence of this Act.
(1)Any power of the Scottish Ministers to make orders or regulations under this Act is exercisable by statutory instrument.
(2)Any such power includes power to make—
(a)such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision as the Scottish Ministers think necessary or expedient,
(b)different provision for different purposes.
(3)An order under section 145 may modify any enactment (including this Act), instrument or document.
(4)A statutory instrument containing an order or regulations under this Act except—
(a)an order under section 65(4), 123(6)[F1, 150(2), paragraph 6A(4) of schedule 3, or paragraph 5A(4) of schedule 4],
(b)regulations under section 27(2)[F2, 27A(1)][F3, 60(2)] or 139(3), and
(c)where subsection (5) applies, [F4regulations under section 9B(5) or] an order under section 145,
is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.
(5)No—
[F5(za)regulations under section 9B(5) containing provisions which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of subsection (3) of that section,]
(a)order under section 65(4)[F6, 123(6), paragraph 6A(4) of schedule 3, or paragraph 5A(4) of schedule 4],
(b)regulations under section 27(2)[F7, 27A(1)][F8, 60(2)] or 139(3), or
(c)order under section 145 containing provisions which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act,
is to be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing the order or regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, the Parliament.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 146(4)(a) substituted (6.12.2017 for specified purposes, 1.5.2018 in so far as not already in force) by Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 4), ss. 1(4)(a), 5(2); S.S.I. 2017/402, art. 2; S.S.I. 2018/88, art. 2
F2Word in s. 146(4)(b) inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 10(2), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, sch.
F3Word in s. 146(4)(b) inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 8(3)(a), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, sch.
F4Words in s. 146(4)(c) inserted (1.12.2015 for specified purposes, 15.5.2017 in so far as not already in force) by Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 10), ss. 56(3)(a), 88(2); S.S.I. 2015/382, art. 2, sch.; S.S.I. 2017/119, art. 2, sch.
F5S. 146(5)(za) inserted (1.12.2015 for specified purposes, 15.5.2017 in so far as not already in force) by Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 10), ss. 56(3)(b), 88(2); S.S.I. 2015/382, art. 2, sch.; S.S.I. 2017/119, art. 2, sch.
F6Words in s. 146(5)(a) substituted (6.12.2017 for specified purposes, 1.5.2018 in so far as not already in force) by Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 4), ss. 1(4)(b), 5(2); S.S.I. 2017/402, art. 2; S.S.I. 2018/88, art. 2
F7Word in s. 146(5)(b) inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 10(2), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, sch.
F8Word in s. 146(5)(b) inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 8(3)(b), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, sch.
(1)In this Act—
“alcoholic drink” means a drink consisting of or containing alcohol,
“applicant”, in relation to any application under this Act, means the person making the application,
[F9“chief constable” means the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland,]
“area” means—
in relation to a council, the local government area for which the council is constituted,
in relation to a Licensing Board or Local Licensing Forum, the council area or, as the case may be, licensing division for which the Board or Forum is established,
“capacity”, in relation to licensed premises, means—
in relation to licensed premises (or any part of such premises) on which alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises (or, as the case may be, that part), the maximum number of customers which can be accommodated in the premises (or, as the case may be, that part) at any one time, and
in relation to licensed premises (or any part of such premises) on which alcohol is sold for consumption off the premises (or, as the case may be, that part), the amount of space in the premises (or, as the case may be, that part) given over to the display of alcohol for sale,
“child” means a person under the age of 16,
“community council” has the same meaning as in Part IV of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65),
“council” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39),
[F10 “Health Board” means a board constituted by an order under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c.29);]
“licensed premises” means premises in respect of which a premises licence or occasional licence has effect,
“liqueur confectionery” means confectionery which—
contains alcohol in a proportion not greater than 0.2 litres of alcohol (of a strength not exceeding 57%) per kilogramme of the confectionery, and
either consists of separate pieces weighing not more than 50 grammes or is designed to be broken into such pieces for the purposes of consumption,
“premises” means any place and includes a vehicle, vessel or moveable structure,
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Scottish Ministers,
“railway vehicle” means a railway vehicle within the meaning of section 83 of the Railways Act 1993 (c. 43) that is used in the provision of a railway service within the meaning of section 82 of that Act (excluding the wider meaning of “railway” given by section 81(2) of that Act),
“relevant council” means, in relation to a Licensing Board or Local Licensing Forum, the council—
for whose area the Board or Forum is established, or
in the case of a Board or Forum established for a licensing division, for the area of which the division forms part,
[F10 “relevant health board”, in relation to a Licensing Board, means—
the Health Board for the Licensing Board's area, or
if the Licensing Board's area forms part of the area of more than one Health Board, each such Health Board;]
“sell”, in relation to alcohol, includes barter and expose to or offer for sale, and related expressions such as “sale” are to be construed accordingly,
“senior police officer” means a constable of or above the rank of superintendent,
“strength”, in relation to alcohol, is to be determined in accordance with section 2 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (c. 4),
“subject premises” means, in relation to any application under this Act, the premises to which the application relates,
“vehicle” means a vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads,
“vessel” includes a ship, boat, raft or other apparatus constructed or adapted for floating on water,
“young person” means a person aged 16 or 17.
(2)In this Act, references to selling alcohol or other goods to trade are references to selling the alcohol or goods to a person for the purposes of the person's trade; and related expressions are to be construed accordingly.
(3)For the purposes of this Act, a person is, in relation to a partnership, a company, a club or other body (whether incorporated or unincorporated), a connected person if the person—
(a)in the case of a partnership, is a partner,
(b)in the case of a company—
(i)is a director, or
(ii)has control of the company,
(c)in the case of a club, is an office bearer of the club,
(d)in any other case, is concerned in the management or control of the body.
(4)For the purposes of subsection (3)(b)(ii) and this subsection, a person is taken to have control of a company if—
(a)any of the directors of the company, or of any other company having control of the company, is accustomed to act in accordance with the person's directions or instructions, or
(b)the person is entitled to exercise, or to control the exercise of, at least one third of the voting power at any general meeting of the company or of any other company having control of the company.
[F11(5)For the purposes of this Act, a person is an interested party in relation to licensed premises if the person is not the holder of the premises licence F12... in respect of the premises but—
(a)has an interest in the premises as an owner or tenant, or
(b)has management and control over the premises or the business carried on on the premises.]
Textual Amendments
F9Words in s. 147(1) substituted (1.4.2013) by Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8), s. 129(2), sch. 7 para. 29(8); S.S.I. 2013/51, art. 2 (with transitional provisions and savings in S.S.I. 2013/121)
F10Definitions in s. 147(1) inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 11(5), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, Sch.
F11S. 147(5) inserted (29.6.2018) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), ss. 184(4), 206(1); S.S.I. 2018/102, art. 2(a)
F12Words in s. 147(5) repealed (29.6.2018) by Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 10), ss. 59(5), 88(2); S.S.I. 2018/102, art. 3
The expressions in the left-hand column of the table are defined or otherwise explained by the provisions of this Act specified in the right-hand column.
Expression | Interpretation provision |
---|---|
alcohol | section 2 |
alcoholic drink | section 147(1) |
applicant | section 147(1) |
[F13chief constable] | section 147(1) |
area | section 147(1) |
capacity (in relation to licensed premises) | section 147(1) |
certified copy (of premises licence or summary) | section 55 |
child | section 147(1) |
closure order | section 97(3) |
community council | section 147(1) |
connected person | section 147(3) |
council | section 147(1) |
F14. . . | F14. . . |
emergency closure order | section 97(4) |
excluded premises | section 123(2) |
exclusion order | section 94(6) |
exempt premises | section 124 |
expiry date (of a personal licence) | section 77(7) |
extended hours application | section 68(3) |
foreign offence | section 129(2) |
[F15interested party | section 147(5)] |
layout plan | section 20(2)(b)(ii) |
licensed hours | section 62(1) |
licensed premises | section 147(1) |
licensing objectives | section 4(1) |
licensing policy statement | section 6(1) |
licensing qualification | section 91(1) |
licensing register | section 9(1) |
liqueur confectionery | section 147(1) |
locality | section 7(2) |
operating plan | section 20(4) |
occasional licence | section 56(1) |
occasional licence application | section 56(4) |
off-sales hours | section 62(2)(a)(ii) |
on-sales hours | section 62(2)(a)(i) |
personal licence | section 71 |
personal licence application | section 72(2) |
personal licence renewal application | section 78(4) |
premises | section 147(1) |
premises licence | section 17 |
premises licence application | section 20(3) |
premises licence review application | section 36(2) |
premises licence review proposal | section 37(2) |
premises licence variation application | section 29(3) |
premises manager | section 19(1) |
prescribed | section 147(1) |
provisional premises licence | section 45(5) |
provisional premises licence application | section 45(2) |
railway vehicle | section 147(1) |
relevant council | section 147(1) |
[F16relevant health board | section 147(1)] |
relevant offence | section 129(1) |
review hearing | section 38(2) |
sell (and related expressions) | section 147(1) |
selling to trade | section 147(2) |
senior police officer | section 147(1) |
strength (of alcohol) | section 147(1) |
subject premises | section 147(1) |
supplementary licensing policy statement | section 6(2) |
temporary premises licence | section 47(4) |
variation (of a premises licence) | section 29(5) |
minor variation (of such a licence) | section 29(6) |
vehicle | section 147(1) |
vessel | section 147(1) |
young person | section 147(1) |
Textual Amendments
F13Words in s. 148 substituted (1.4.2013) by Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8), s. 129(2), sch. 7 para. 29(9); S.S.I. 2013/51, art. 2 (with transitional provisions and savings in S.S.I. 2013/121)
F14Entry in s. 148 repealed (1.11.2011) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), s. 206(1), Sch. 6 para. 17; S.S.I. 2011/354, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 5)
F15Entry in s. 148 inserted (29.6.2018) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), ss. 184(5), 206(1); S.S.I. 2018/102, art. 2(a)
F16Entry "relevant health board" in s. 148 inserted (1.10.2011) by Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 18), ss. 11(6), 18(1) (with s. 16); S.S.I. 2011/149, art. 2, Sch.
The enactments mentioned in the first column in schedule 7 are repealed to the extent specified in the second column.
Commencement Information
I4S. 149 in force at 1.6.2006 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2006/286, art. 2(b) (with arts. 3-5) (as amended (1.5.2007) by S.S.I. 2007/128, art. 6)
I5S. 149 in force at 1.5.2007 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2007/129, art. 3, Sch.
I6S. 149 in force at 1.2.2008 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2007/472, art. 2, Sch. 1
I7S. 149 in force at 1.9.2009 at 5.00 a.m. in so far as not already in force by S.S.I. 2007/472, art. 3
(1)This Act may be cited as the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.
(2)This Act (other than this section and sections 145 to 148) comes into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by order appoint.
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: