Local Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock and Central Ayrshire Conservative candidates Lee Lyons and Marc Hope have made a joint call on the Scottish Government to review the lengthy ban on Personal License Holders (PLH) who fail to meet their legal training requirements.
Personal License Holders are required by law to complete training of the SCPLH Refresher Course every 5 years, however many license holders across South Ayrshire missed the training deadline in August 2014 and as a result have had their licenses revoked with a 5 year ban on reapplying. This means that they can’t sell alcohol from their premises without another PLH on duty.
As a result of the lengthy ban, there are fears that this could lead to major job losses in the industry and potential closure of many alcohol selling premises.
In a joint call, Lee and Marc said: “The Scottish Government urgently need to review this legislation in order to ensure that Personal License Holders who missed the August 2014 deadline have the opportunity to reapply for training. It would be an utter scandal if hundreds of publicans who lost their license couldn’t reapply for 5 years as it may result in major job losses in the industry and have a negative impact on the local economy in South Ayrshire”.
"Whilst we understand Personal License Holders have a duty to meet legal deadlines and ensure they have complied with all requirements set out, we believe this particular penalty has been poorly thought out by the Scottish government as it also impacts on the jobs of ordinary workers employed in these premises. We both call on the Scottish Government to review this law and also to act retrospectively if they do decide to alter it”.