HL Deb 25 October 1990 vol 522 cc1622-3

156 Clause 43, page 50, line 13, leave out from 'boards), to end of line 14 and insert 'at the end of subsection (2) there shall be added the following paragraph— (m) confirming, under section 25(4) of this Act, the transfer of a licence transferred by virtue of subsections (2) or (3) of that section.".'.

157 Page 50, line 15, at end insert:

  1. '(a) after "behalf," there shall be inserted "temporarily"; and
  2. (b)'.

158 Page 50, line 16, at end insert: `() After subsection (1) of that section there shall be added the following subsections— (1A) Subject to subsection (1C) below, a temporary transfer made under subsection (1) above shall have effect until the appropriate meeting of the licensing hoard which shall be—

  1. (a) the next meeting of the board; or
    2. 1623
  2. (b) in the case of a temporary transfer made within the period of six weeks before the first day of the next meeting of the board, the next following meeting of the board.

(1B) At an appropriate meeting of the licensing board, within the meaning of subsection (1A) above, and on an application being made for the permanent transfer of the licence, the board shall make a decision on the permanent transfer of the licence.

(1C) If the licensing board refuses to make a permanent transfer of a licence under subsection (1B) above, the person to whom the licence had been transferred temporarily may appeal to the sheriff against that refusal and the licence shall have effect until the time within which an appeal may be made has elapsed or, if an appeal has been lodged, until the appeal has been abandoned or determined.".'.

159 Page 50, line 20, after 'which', insert ', on an application for confirmation of the transfer of the licence,'.

160 Page 51, line 6, at end insert: '(5) For subsection (7) of that section there shall be substituted the following subsection—— (7) References in this Act to the permanent transfer of a licence shall be construed as references to the transfer of a licence by virtue of subsection (1B) above.".'.

Lord Strathclyde

My Lords, Clause 43 makes a number of changes to the procedures applying to the transfer of licences under Section 25 of the 1976 Act, thereby resolving some of the practical difficulties which have been met in the existing legislation.

Amendments Nos. 156 to 160 and Amendment No. 259 ale designed to take account of further representations on the procedures which have been received since the provisions in the Bill were drafted. The aim of these amendments is to make the process of transfer more straightforward when the premises acquire a new tenant or occupier.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 156 to 160.—(Lord Strathclyde.)

Lord Macaulay of Bragar

My Lords, it is recognised that the Government are trying to streamline this particularly difficult area of licensing law where temporary transfers take place. The one criticism which I make is that the proposals do not deal efrectively with the time when a person has entered into a commitment to take over licensed premises. It appears, and representations have been made, that the timescale as regards the new amendment is rather too long, particularly in Scotland where there are not many tenancies. People tend to buy the premises. That means that large sums of money can be at stake on one side or the other for long periods of time. Nowadays large sums of money are paid for licensed premises and the interest rate is currently high. That can cause great difficulty to both parties involved. Perhaps the Government would consider conducting a further investigation to see whether there is an even quicker way of dealing with the temporary transfer of licences.

On Question, Motion agreed to.