Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

The Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol came into effect on 1 May 2018. This is a Scottish Government policy targeted at low cost high strength alcohol. The current minimum price, set by the Scottish Government, is 50 pence per unit.

The minimum unit price for alcohol applies to both:

• Premises that sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, and
• Premises that sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.

For more information, please download the document below:

You can also visit the Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol pages on the Scottish Government website. 

The Act sets out 5 high level “licensing objectives.” These represent the principles on which the new licensing system is based, and provide Licensing Boards with a solid foundation on which to build their own local policies. These objectives are not ranked in order of importance. Each has equal weighting and all must be paramount considerations when Licensing Boards are carrying out their responsibilities.

These 5 objectives are:

• Preventing crime and disorder;
• Securing public safety;
• Preventing public nuisance;
• Protecting and improving public health; and
• Protecting children from harm.

Section 6 of the Act requires a Licensing Board to prepare and publish a Statement of Licensing Policy every three years. Licensing policies must be published before the Board carries out any function in respect of individual applications made under the terms of the Act.  The policy must be kept under review and the Licensing Board may make to it such revisions as it considers appropriate.   

For information purposes only a copy of the consultation responses received in respect of the Draft Statement of Licensing Policy which were taken into account before the final policy was agreed are undernoted.