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A number of people have been in touch with me to raise their concerns about changes implemented by the Scottish Government to licencing law which would allow councils to charge for licences for arts events and performances which were until now exempt. There has been some concerns raised in places like Edinburgh where charges were proposed. A group of people from Dundee's creative industries are organising a meeting to discuss this issue this evening. You can read a report in today's Courier about this.
I hope to be able to attend the meeting this evening. I have asked the council for a briefing on where we are at the moment and the response I have received is copied below. Basically, it says that there are no plans to charge for these licences but that there will need to be a review which takes into account the changes to the legislation. I will certainly be arguing that the City Council should not charge for these licences.
'Dear Councillor McCready,
I refer to your recent enquiry concerning the Council's proposed response with regard to the above matter. Roger Mennie has asked me to reply to you on his behalf and I would advise as follows.
This situation has arisen following the enactment of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. Prior to this, events only required a public entertainment licence if they were ones which the public had to pay to enter or participate in (and, even then, a licence was only required if the event was of a type listed by the local authority in a resolution). The 2010 Act removes the payment element, therefore, free events are now potentially licensable. Again, however, they will only need a licence if on the local authority's list. This takes effect from 01/04/2012.
The list for Dundee was drawn up in 1984. It includes such things as - ice rinks, circuses/carnivals, snooker/billiards halls and bowling alleys. It also covers any events taking place in schools or educational establishments, church halls, etc. where the event is not part of the educational or religious activities. The chances are that the likes of an art exhibition or similar events would not fall into any of the categories in our current list and would therefore not need a licence (although there is a general category of "any public show of any description whatever" which might encompass some such events). Any events taking place in premises already the subject of a liquor licence are also exempt (this is contained in the legislation itself).
Councils are looking at the lists in each of their areas and considering whether these should be changed and, if so, which events should be included and which specifically excluded. The problem is that the procedure for changing the list is rather protracted and involves the Licensing Committee publishing an amended resolution, advertising it for a month for public comment and then a period of 8 months has to pass before it takes effect! Therefore, in common with some other councils, we are proposing a pragmatic approach to deal with this issue in the interim. A note will be submitted to the Licensing Committee on 29/03/2012 asking it to agree that the current list will only apply to paid events (and that free events will continue to be unlicensed) until a new resolution is drawn up and approved in accordance with the procedure outlined above. The rationale behind this is that the 1984 list was compiled when only paid events needed a licence and it is likely that it would have been worded differently if free events were to be covered. We will have to consult with the public and all interested parties as part of the procedure for drawing up a new resolution anyway. It might be the case that the new resolution will contain a specific exemption for events such as art exhibitions, school fetes, etc.
We are working on a public statement to this effect to try to allay the fears which have been expressed in some quarters about this change to the law and this will hopefully be issued later today or tomorrow. I hope this is of assistance to you. However, if you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact Stuart or myself.
Yours sincerely
Brian Woodcock
Senior Solicitor (Licensing)'
I am happy to listen to the views of local people on this issue.
I hope to be able to attend the meeting this evening. I have asked the council for a briefing on where we are at the moment and the response I have received is copied below. Basically, it says that there are no plans to charge for these licences but that there will need to be a review which takes into account the changes to the legislation. I will certainly be arguing that the City Council should not charge for these licences.
'Dear Councillor McCready,
I refer to your recent enquiry concerning the Council's proposed response with regard to the above matter. Roger Mennie has asked me to reply to you on his behalf and I would advise as follows.
This situation has arisen following the enactment of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. Prior to this, events only required a public entertainment licence if they were ones which the public had to pay to enter or participate in (and, even then, a licence was only required if the event was of a type listed by the local authority in a resolution). The 2010 Act removes the payment element, therefore, free events are now potentially licensable. Again, however, they will only need a licence if on the local authority's list. This takes effect from 01/04/2012.
The list for Dundee was drawn up in 1984. It includes such things as - ice rinks, circuses/carnivals, snooker/billiards halls and bowling alleys. It also covers any events taking place in schools or educational establishments, church halls, etc. where the event is not part of the educational or religious activities. The chances are that the likes of an art exhibition or similar events would not fall into any of the categories in our current list and would therefore not need a licence (although there is a general category of "any public show of any description whatever" which might encompass some such events). Any events taking place in premises already the subject of a liquor licence are also exempt (this is contained in the legislation itself).
Councils are looking at the lists in each of their areas and considering whether these should be changed and, if so, which events should be included and which specifically excluded. The problem is that the procedure for changing the list is rather protracted and involves the Licensing Committee publishing an amended resolution, advertising it for a month for public comment and then a period of 8 months has to pass before it takes effect! Therefore, in common with some other councils, we are proposing a pragmatic approach to deal with this issue in the interim. A note will be submitted to the Licensing Committee on 29/03/2012 asking it to agree that the current list will only apply to paid events (and that free events will continue to be unlicensed) until a new resolution is drawn up and approved in accordance with the procedure outlined above. The rationale behind this is that the 1984 list was compiled when only paid events needed a licence and it is likely that it would have been worded differently if free events were to be covered. We will have to consult with the public and all interested parties as part of the procedure for drawing up a new resolution anyway. It might be the case that the new resolution will contain a specific exemption for events such as art exhibitions, school fetes, etc.
We are working on a public statement to this effect to try to allay the fears which have been expressed in some quarters about this change to the law and this will hopefully be issued later today or tomorrow. I hope this is of assistance to you. However, if you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact Stuart or myself.
Yours sincerely
Brian Woodcock
Senior Solicitor (Licensing)'
I am happy to listen to the views of local people on this issue.
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