Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Official Report 491KB pdf

Instrument subject to Affirmative Procedure

Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2021 [Draft]

Agenda item 5 is consideration of a draft affirmative instrument, on which a number of issues have been raised with the Scottish Government.

First, it could be made clearer in paragraph 1(e) of schedule 1 to the instrument that it is the term “premises licence”, rather than the term “approved activity”, that is being defined by reference to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Secondly, it could be made clearer that paragraphs 2(4) to (7) of schedule 1 to the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, as modified by paragraph 4 of schedule 2 to the instrument, do not place obligations on the applicant to display a public notice at or near the premises indicating that an application for a licence has been made.

Thirdly, the reference to “section 123(a) or (b)” of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 in new paragraph 2A of schedule 1 to the 1982 act, as modified by paragraph 5 of schedule 1 to the instrument, should in fact be to “section 123(1)(a) or (b)”.

Does the committee wish to draw the instrument to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground (h) in respect of the first and second of those errors, and the general reporting ground in respect of the third; and, although the committee may wish to welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has committed to laying an amending instrument to rectify the second and third of the errors, does it also wish to call on the Scottish Government to include in that amending instrument provision to address the first of the errors, which relates to paragraph 1(e) of schedule 1?

No member has indicated that they are not content, so that is agreed.