Statements of Licensing Policy

Reducing harm caused by alcohol

Campaigns & Policy

Statements of Licensing Policy

What is a Statement of Licensing Policy?

Each local licensing board in Scotland has to develop a Statement of Licensing Policy. This policy sets out how the licensing board will carry out its work, including how it will promote the five licensing objectives, how it will make decisions and also if the board thinks there are enough, or too many, licensed premises in an area.

All licensing boards must update their statement of licensing policy after each local government election, with the next policies due in November 2018.

How can people get involved?

Now is a really great time to get involved and have a say. A licensing board must consult different groups when it is developing its policy, including the local community. They will also consult with the local licensing forum, police and the local health board. Some will send it to community councils or organisations representing the interests of the licensed trade.

Most licensing boards also put the consultation on the council’s website and anyone can respond. Most consultations will begin around six to nine months before the statement is due to be produced.

Some top tips if you want to get involved include:

Contact your local licensing board to find out when it will be updating its policy and how you can give your views.
Speak to other people living in the community - the feelings of a large group of people carry more weight in policy consultations.
Think about how you could gather the views of people living in your local area, such as surveys or public meetings. Other local groups such as community councils might be gathering evidence and you might be able to take part in their work.
Try to include evidence to support your opinions, such as times you’ve reported things like noise disturbance to the police or environmental health noise teams. Reporting such problems also means that these will be included in official statistics.