POLICE Scotland has echoed calls for consistency in the way sexual entertainment venues are regulated.
Speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Regeneration Committee as part of the evidence hearings for the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, assistant chief constable Nelson Telfer said the regulation of venues “should be a mandatory provision, rather than the resolution in the Bill, and not left to the discretion of the local authority”.
He added that the Scottish Government needs to reach a consensus on the definition of ‘sexual entertainment’.
The comments echo those made by professor Phil Hubbard of the University of Kent, who addressed the committee earlier in January and also argued for a consistent approach to sexual entertainment licensing across council areas (SLTN January 22).
Elsewhere Telfer said Police Scotland welcomes the return of the fit and proper person test – featured in the Bill – but added “it remains to be seen how this will operate in practice and how the proposed test will correlate to the licensing objectives”.
The committee is expected to produce a report on the Bill in March, and the Scottish Parliament will vote on whether to approve the Bill at stage one in April.
