Annual levy on pub-owning businesses
88.The adjudicator is to be funded primarily(4) by means of a levy on pub-owning businesses.
89.Paragraph 12(1) specifies that the levy for any particular financial year is payable by any person (legal or natural) who is or was a pub-owning business during that financial year. Accordingly, a business that ceased to qualify as a pub-owning business mid-way through the year would still be liable to pay the levy.
90.Paragraph 12(2) states that the adjudicator can only impose a levy in a financial year if the Scottish Ministers have given their approval. Requiring the consent of Scottish Ministers ensures that the levy is subject to a level of scrutiny and accountability and cannot be determined solely by the adjudicator.
Some funding may also come via fees and/or payments from tenants (such as via fees payable for requesting a Market Rent Only lease, and costs of arbitration and investigation processes, in certain circumstances).