Getting Back to Business
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With the remaining Covid restrictions falling away, the legal profession can turn its principal focus back to the business and practice of law under more normal circumstances.
Our next Scots Law series, Getting Back to Business, reflects this shift by providing an analysis of practical, statutory and caselaw developments in eight key practice areas that will help you offer best advice to your clients.
Those practising in the field of licensing law were required to become particularly adept at advising and finding solutions to overcome the problems the pandemic brought, but what positives can be taken from the response to the pandemic? With the local elections bringing new Licensing Boards, the challenges to be faced will be analysed. Excluded premises and their treatment will also be considered as well as the key implications arising from the recent Aldi v Dundee City Council decision and criminal liability under the 2005 Act.
Including sessions on relevant immigration and gambling developments, join us and our panel of experts who will consider possible solutions to the following questions to help your practice and guide the advice you provide to your clients:
- what are the positives to be taken from the recent emergency legislation?
- what are the challenges ahead for the new Licensing Boards?
- who can be criminally liable and for what in terms of the 2005 Act?
- what are the implications for the trade and Boards that stem from the recent Aldi v Dundee City Licensing Board decision?
- how are excluded premises treated in relation to the sale of alcohol?
- what are the recent developments in immigration that affect licensing?
- what types of enforcement action are the Gambling Commission currently focusing on?
What's being covered?
Positives from the pandemic - looking forward
In this session we will look at: the positives to be taken from the recent emergency legislation; adapting and retaining flexing working practices; additional measures to support recovery of the sector; where there may be a slide away from positivity; and the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill. There will also be consideration of what’s coming up on the horizon.
Caroline Loudon, TLT LLP
New Licensing Boards in 2022 – the challenges ahead
Following Local Government elections in May, Councils will be appointing new Licensing Boards for the next five years. This presentation will cover the practical issues Boards will require to address post-COVID restrictions, preparations for new Licensing Policy Statements and possible legislative changes and consider the challenges ahead for new Boards in carrying out their statutory role.
Morag Leck, City of Edinburgh Council
Licensing 101: Criminal liability and the 2005 Act
- Licensing offences under the 2005 Act
- Vicarious liability and due diligence
- Who can be liable for what?
- The role of responsible persons, connected persons, and interested parties.
- Liability and real estate transactions
- Liability and insolvency scenarios
Stephen McGowan, TLT LLP
Aldi v Dundee City Licensing Board – overprovision in the world of minimum unit pricing
In this topic Scott will review this recent very important licensing appeal and the implications for the trade and Boards. He will examine the apparent role of minimum unit pricing in making overprovision decisions as well as wider lessons from the case, including the treatment of all of a Board area Dundee as a locality; not treating smaller supermarkets differently from other off-sales and the continuing role of local knowledge in licensing decisions. He will also comment on when, if ever, a sheriff, on appeal should make their own decision on overprovision.
Scott Blair, Terra Firma Chambers
Sale of alcohol from excluded premises in Scotland
This presentation will look at: what excluded premises are; licensing applications for petrol station shops in Scotland; how the courts have interpreted the legal tests; and how Licensing Boards treat petrol stations in the policy statements. The case for reform and comparison with the position in England and Wales will also be considered.
Andrew Hunter, Harper MacLeod
Immigration and licensing – the current key issues
As post-Brexit rules bed in and world events impact at a local level, this session will consider the interaction of immigration and licensing, with a focus on the most important developments over the past 12 months and the potential consequences of non-compliance.
John Vassiliou, Shepherd and Wedderburn
Gambling Act update
This presentation will cover the latest topics in gambling. It will look at the recent trends in gambling across Great Britain. If they have been published, the Government’s proposals to reform Gambling Law in response to the ‘Gambling Act Review’ will be scrutinised. As always there will be a look back at certain GC regulatory sanctions, to show the types of enforcement action the Gambling Commission are currently focusing on.
Chris Rees-Gay, Woods Whur
