The Act: Overview Alcohol licensing Section 32: Alcohol licensing: how hearings may be held
117.This section makes similar provision to alcohol licensing as is made for civic licensing by section 30 of this Act, replicating the temporary modifications to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”) made by paragraph 1 of schedule 5 of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020.
118.A new section 133A is inserted into the 2005 Act, giving a Licensing Board the ability to hold a licensing hearing through remote facilities, as well as in person, or through a mixture of both (often called a “hybrid” format). Subsection (3) of section 133A defines “remote facilities” for these purposes, a definition which would include telephones and video conferencing software.
119.Subsection (2) of section 133A ensures that any views which participants at a licensing hearing may offer with regard to the appropriate format for the hearing must be taken into account by a Licensing Board, prior to finalising its decision on the format. This applies to anyone who notifies the Board of their intention to participate, such as the licence holder or an objector.
120.Equivalent provision is then made for Licensing Board meetings by amendments to paragraph 12 of schedule 1 of the 2005 Act. In addition, because the existing paragraph 12(2) requires that Licensing Board meetings are held in public, a new paragraph 12(2A) is inserted in order to clarify that this requirement for public access is complied with, where a remote or hybrid meeting is held, by the Board enabling the public to observe the meeting remotely – for example through the public provision of a web link to the meeting.