5. NEW APPLICATIONS FOR AND SUSPENSIONS OF LIQUOR LICENCES
During 2006, licensing boards considered a total of 710 new applications for liquor licences, this was 58 more than the previous year. Of these, 671 (95 per cent) were granted a licence ( Table 7). In sixteen, mainly rural areas, all applications for liquor licences were successful. The areas where licence applications were least successful were North Lanarkshire (55 per cent granted), Clackmannanshire (75 per cent granted) and Eilean Siar and Falkirk (both with 83 per cent granted), though it should be noted that the total number of applications involved in each of these areas was relatively small. Applications for on-sale licences (98 per cent granted) were likely to be slightly more successful than those for off-sale licences (90 per cent granted). Between 2002 and 2006, the percentage of on-sale licences granted has remained around 97 per cent, whilst the percentage of off-sale licences granted has fluctuated slightly between 87 and 91 per cent.
Under section 17 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, licensing boards may refuse an application for a licence for a number of reasons (see licensing legislation in Introduction section). The most common reason for refusal of off-sale applications in 2006 was that the granting of the application would result in the over provision of licensed premises in the locality. For on-sale applications the most common reason for refusal was that the premises was unfit or unsuitable for the sale of alcohol. Chart 4 illustrates the relative frequency of individual reasons given for refusal. There may be more than one reason given for any one application being refused; combinations can be seen in Table 8.
Chart 4 Proportion of refused licence applications in which each reason was given, 2006
Ninety potential licence applications were withdrawn before they reached the licensing boards in 2006. Chart 5 shows the distribution of outcomes of the total numbers of on-sale and off-sale applications, including those withdrawn, before they reached the board.
Chart 5 Outcomes of applications for on and off-sale licences, 2006
An update of the information collected for the first time in 2003 shows that licensing boards in Scotland suspended 30 licences in 2006. Of these, half were for on-sale licences consisting of public houses (9), hotels (2), restaurants (2) and entertainment (2). The remaining 50 per cent of licences suspended were for off-sale licences, two thirds of which were for shops.