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'Conditions for existing licences
18B.--(1) This section applies to premises in respect of which a licence has been granted, whether before or after the coming into force of this section, under section 17 of this Act where no conditions have been attached to the licence in pursuance of section 18A of this Act.
(2) Where it appears to a licensing board that an event to which section 18A of this Act applies may be held on premises to which this section applies, the board shall convene a meeting for the purpose of attaching to the licence the conditions specified in subsection (1) of that section.
(3) The clerk to the licensing board shall, not later than21 days before the date of the meeting to be held under subsection (2) above, serve on the holder of the licence and send to the chief constable a notice of--
(a) the meeting;
(b) where the Secretary of State has prescribed the terms of any prescribed conditions, such terms;
(c) in the case of any other prescribed conditions, the terms proposed by the board; and
(d) where the board proposes to attach any other conditions to the licence, the terms of such conditions.
(4) At the meeting held under subsection (2) above, unless the holder of the licence satisfies the board that no event to which section 18A of this Act applies will be held on the premises, the board shall attach to the licence the prescribed conditions and such other conditions as it considers necessary in the terms determined in accordance with subsection(5) below.
(5) In determining--
(a) whether the board is satisfied as mentioned in subsection (4) above; or
(b) what conditions (other than prescribed conditions) to attach to a licence or the terms (other than such terms as are prescribed) of such conditions,
the board shall have regard to any observations submitted by the chief constable and any other person or body mentioned in section 16(1) of this Act.
(6) Subsections (2) to (4) of section 16 of this Act shall apply in relation to any observations made under subsection (5) above as they apply in relation to any objection made under that section; and for the purposes of such application any reference in the said subsections (2) to (4)--
(a) to an application shall be construed as a reference to conditions proposed to be attached to the licence;
(b) to the applicant shall be construed as a reference to the holder of the licence;
(c) to an objection shall be construed as a reference to an observation;
and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.
(7) The terms of conditions to be attached to the licence in pursuance of subsection (4) above are--
(a) in the case of the prescribed conditions--
(i) where the terms of any condition have been prescribed, such terms;
(ii) where the description of any condition has been prescribed, such terms as the board considers appropriate;
(b) in the case of any other condition notified under subsection (3)(d) above, such terms as the board consider appropriate; and
(c) in the case of any condition not so notified, such terms as are agreed with the holder of the licence.
(8) Subsections (4) to (9) of section 18A of this Act shall apply to conditions attached to a licence under subsection(4) above as they apply to conditions attached to a licence under section 18A(1) of this Act.
(9) The clerk to the licensing board shall forthwith intimate to the holder of the licence--
(a) where the board is satisfied that no event to which section 18A of this Act will be held on the premises, that fact; and
(b) where the board attaches conditions to the licence, such conditions by sending to the holder of the licence a copy of the licence with the conditions attached.
(10) In this section "prescribed conditions" has the same meaning as in section 18A of this Act.'.
Amendment (a) to the Government amendment, in subsection (4), after the first 'licence', insert 'or his representative'.
Amendment (b), in subsection (9), leave out 'forthwith' and insert
Government amendments Nos. 11 and 12.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
I welcome the all-party support for this Bill and the helpful suggestions made by Opposition Members, many of which are incorporated in the Bill. We wish to consider amendment (a) to Government amendment No. 15 further, because it may give rise to consequential amendments to other legislation. I therefore wish to take away that amendment with a view to considering whether it can be accepted without causing difficulty to other legislation. We are very sympathetic to the aims of the amendment, and we shall do our best to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
Hon. Members who were present will recall that I said in Committee that I intended to bring forward an amendment on Report that would give licensing boards the power to attach conditions to existing licences in the same way as the boards would be able to attach conditions on the grant or renewal of a licence. Licences granted under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 usually last for three years, and it would in no small degree frustrate the object of the Bill if boards had to wait that long before being able to attach conditions to relevant licences, to protect the health and safety of young people.
Amendment No. 15, along with three consequential amendments, will make certain that licensing boards do not have to await the renewal of licences before attaching
conditions. The amendment introduces new section 18B into the 1976 Act, which enables a board to attach conditions to an existing licence. Where a board proposes to attach conditions to an existing licence, it must convene a meeting and serve a notice on the licence holder.
We have taken account of the essence of concerns raised by hon. Members about the wording of the earlier version of the amendment. It was suggested that the licensing board might not provide enough information to the licence holder about when and where the meeting was to be held. New section 18B(3)(a) has been drafted in terms already used in the 1976 Act which, I hope, will assuage any concerns that hon. Members may have had about the information to be notified to the licence holder. The holder of a licence has the same rights of appeal to a sheriff in respect of conditions attached to an existing licence as are provided in relation to conditions attached on the grant or renewal of a licence.
I hope that hon. Members will appreciate the good sense of amendment No. 15, and the consequential amendments Nos. 9, 11 and 12, noting that we have taken on board their point mentioned in Committee about the notification of the meeting. I therefore commend them to the House.
While it may not be appropriate for me to refer to Opposition amendments other than the one that I have agreed to take away and consider, I might assist the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McFall) by saying that, although I am sympathetic to the aim of amendment (b), we would seek to cover that matter in guidance. It is not necessary to legislate. I hope that that assists the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. John McFall (Dumbarton):
First, I thank the Minister for his co-operation during the evidence sessions on the Bill. It has been a co-operative and a listening exercise, and the Bill has gained from that. The Minister and the Government made considerable concessions after hearing the evidence. I accept that Government amendments Nos. 9, 11 and 12 are consequential, and that Government amendment No. 9 in particular is a paving amendment for amendments (a) and (b).
The reasoning behind the amendments is as follows.A meeting of the licensing board, as defined in new section 18A, will be held for the purpose of putting conditions on the licence. The licensing board will be required to give notification of those conditions and of the meeting date and location. Our amendments cover that, and make more specific the date and location of the meeting.
The amendments further provide for the licence holder or his representative, as laid out in the 1976 Act, to make representations, and deal with the word "forthwith". The Bill contains no qualification of "forthwith", and I was trying to make it more specific by referring to 14 days. But even at this late stage, I am happy for the Minister to take the amendments away and see what can be done.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
On amendment (b), I confirm that the word "forthwith" means as quickly as possible. We shall seek to confirm in guidance that "forthwith" means what it says, and that it should be well within 14 days. We accept the spirit of the hon. Gentleman's comments.
Mr. James Wallace (Orkney and Shetland):
New section 18B(2), in amendment No. 15, states:
', no later than fourteen days after the meeting held under subsection (2) above,'.
"Where it appears to a licensing board that an event to which section 18A of this Act applies".
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