Question reference: S3W-10172
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 21 February 2008
-
Current status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 February 2008
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the current levels of licensing fees, in light of submissions to the consultation on licensing fees related to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 from the Federation of Small Businesses and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation arguing for greater progressivity, especially at the higher end of the rateable values’ scale.
Answer
The Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 provide for various fees to be charged by licensing boards. They were discussed in detail by the Justice Committee.
The premises licence application fee and annual fee are set by licensing boards within the parameters set by the regulations. Premises will fall into one of six fee bands according to the rateable value of the premises. These bands were recommended in an independent research report and were the subject of consultation. Although some organisations requested higher bandings into which their competitors would fall, the fee system is about the cost of administering the licensing system, including the cost of processing applications and not about linking the fee to the volume of alcohol a premises sells. The fee structure in the 2007 Regulations is more progressive than the current arrangement under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, where there is a flat fee for all applications.