Thousands of bars, clubs and off-sales face the threat of closure, industry leaders warned yesterday, as it emerged that there is a massive backlog of licensees and staff who have to be checked and approved by the end of next summer.
Thousands of bars, clubs and off-sales face the threat of closure, industry leaders warned yesterday, as it emerged that there is a massive backlog of licensees and staff who have to be checked and approved by the end of next summer.
Senior police officers estimated at the weekend that as many as 60,000 staff across the country may have to have background checks, while in Glasgow only around one in 20 traders has applied for the "personal licence" required under the new liquor legislation at the halfway point of the transition to the new laws.
In other areas across Scotland, local authorities have not even begun to issue personal licences or have put them to one side to address other "transition" issues.
All those inspected by police also require to be trained and then approved by local authorities, which alone takes four weeks, before they receive their licences.
An over-burden of bureaucracy, tight timescales and a general ignorance on the part of the licensed trade are contributing to the backlog, which hospitality industry lobbyists claim throws up the very real likelihood of establishments being shut when the new act goes live on September 1.
Senior police figures have also pointed out they have received no additional funding for carrying out the task. Last night, the Scottish Government reiterated its stance that unless venues have by next September nominated a premises manager, the person who authorises alcohol sales, they will not be permitted to open their doors.
If no nomination is made by December 1, 2009, the separate "premises" licence is deemed to be immediately revoked.
A government spokeswoman said: "It remains that premises will not be able to trade come September 1, 2009, if they do not have a designated premises manager who holds a personal licence. This is an important safeguard of the licensing regime ensuring there is a person responsible and accountable for the operation of the premises." At a conference attended by government and trade representatives to discuss the transition so far it emerged that just 290 applications had been made for personal licences in Glasgow, from a potential pool of 6000.
Although the Glasgow licensing board has installed software and dedicated staff to deal with the issue, many fear other boards which are treating personal licence applications as a low priority will face a deluge of nominations around the middle of next year, which could potentially overburden them with catastrophic consequences for the industry.
Superintendent John Farrell, Strathclyde's lead officer on licensing, told delegates some in the trade wrongly believed that as they had been trained they then possessed personal licences.
He added: "We really have to ensure that we get the message out. The trade must get its applications in. There's a big, big shortfall, thousands upon thousands out there. Most people in the trade who we conduct checks on are decent people, but the picture can be different when we start dealing with chargehands and the like.
"We may have to deal with a lot of problematic applications."
But trade leaders warned that government action could be required to prevent a wave of closures.
Paul Waterson, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "Real problems are being stored up here and we've made appeals for personal licences to be applied for, processed and granted Asap. Some licensing boards are not even meeting, while we've also an issue about educating the trade that they need this licence to operate, come September. We may need statutory pressure on boards to begin this process."
Patrick Browne, of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, added: "The issue is some boards are processing the applications and others are not, with potentially serious implications for the trade if they are not processed by September 1. The Scottish Government needs to look at this, to send out a signal and get some clarity."
The government spokeswoman added: "It is for licensing boards to manage the process. The government of course wishes to see all licences dealt with in a timely and sensible fashion."
