This publication has been jointly developed by Alcohol Focus Scotland and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP). It follows up the many requests received, particularly at the National Licensing Conference 2008, from licensing officials and board members for more clarity on what is meant by ‘public health’, and for guidance on what licensing boards and licensing forums could and should do with regard to public health. A review of licensing board policy statements undertaken in 2008 found that measures to address public health were not included in all statements.
A public health principle has been enshrined in the new Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 due to come into force in September 2009. This legislation applies to both the on-trade (pubs, clubs, restaurants) and off-trade (supermarkets, convenience stores, off-licences) in Scotland. Protection and Improvement of Public Health is one of five licensing objectives that licensing boards must take into consideration when granting or renewing licences.
This booklet gives licensing boards and local licensing forums information on what the public health principle might mean for them in practice.
Liquor licensing has always served a public health function. Regulation ensures the purity and safety of alcohol products sold to the public, reducing the incidence of death from drinking contaminated alcohol. Establishing and enforcing a minimum purchase age promotes public health by seeking to prevent children from harming themselves.
Measures aimed at reducing alcohol-related public disorder also promote public health in that they lessen the risk of alcohol-related violence and injury. What the new Licensing Act does for the first time is to make the protection and the improvement of public health an explicit purpose of the licensing system.
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