1. Introduction
1. The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 provides that alcohol is not to be sold on any premises except under and in accordance with (a) a premises licence, or (b) an occasional licence, granted under the Act in respect of the premises.
2. Section 126(10) allows Ministers, by regulations, to provide for this Act to apply in relation to vessels, vehicles and moveable structures subject to such further modification as they consider necessary or expedient.
3. The draft regulations attached would essentially exempt from the requirements of Act vessels which are not moored or berthed in any place, while there are no more than 50 persons on board the vessel. A vessel which can have more than 50 people on board would not need to have a premises licence, but could apply for an occasional licence for events where there were more than 50 people on board. Where a premises licence has been obtained for a vessel, the conditions of that licence would have to be complied with when there were less than 50 people on board because the vessel would still constitute "licensed premises" at that time.
4. Further, the regulations allows for an individual to be a premises manager of two or more licensed premises where each of those premises is a vessel which is not permanently moored or berthed.