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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Licence costs 'could close pubs' | Licence costs 'could close pubs' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Smaller bars and rural pubs face closure under a new licensing scheme which could quadruple their fees, the licensed trade is to warn MSPs. | Smaller bars and rural pubs face closure under a new licensing scheme which could quadruple their fees, the licensed trade is to warn MSPs. |
| The industry claims the proposals could result in "unjustified" costs. | The industry claims the proposals could result in "unjustified" costs. |
| The justice secretary is to tell the justice committee the rise will cover extra costs of enforcement, paid for by the industry instead of taxpayers. | The justice secretary is to tell the justice committee the rise will cover extra costs of enforcement, paid for by the industry instead of taxpayers. |
| The proposals would see some pubs facing a maximum fee of £2,000 for their licence application. | The proposals would see some pubs facing a maximum fee of £2,000 for their licence application. |
| The system will require a new network of Licensing Standards Officers, who will police the licences and monitor the impact of pubs and offsales on communities in terms of anti-social behaviour. | |
| This statutory instrument... could impose an unjustified cost of £20m on the 20,000 licensed premises in Scotland over the next 18 months David DanielPunch Taverns | |
| The Scottish Government said it was appropriate that businesses which would profit from the licences should pay the costs of administration. | |
| However, the trade estimates that the cost to the sector will rise from £5m a year to £20m. | |
| It said an unfair burden would fall on smaller and rural pubs, leading to closures. | |
| David Daniel of Punch Taverns, which owns 500 premises in Scotland, is among those urging the committee to drop the plans. | |
| "As a member of the Scottish Parliament I am asking you to reject this statutory instrument, which could impose an unjustified cost of £20m on the 20,000 licensed premises in Scotland over the next 18 months," he says in a submission. | |
| He said the increases did not reflect the cost of administration of the licence system. | |
| Tory MSP Bill Aitken, convener of the committee, has tabled a move to block the increases. | |
| But Mr MacAskill will argue that the new fees will end years of the licensing system being subsidised by the taxpayer. | |
| Fee income at present covers only 63% of the licensing system's running costs and the rest is met from other council resources. |