Time is running out to renew your personal licence, trainers warn
THE deadline for thousands of personal licence holders (PLHs) to renew their personal licence is just over six weeks away (May 31). So if your licence is due to expire on August 31, 2019, you must complete refresher training and lodge a renewal application right away.
That was the message from trainers, who warned that failure to submit a renewal by the May 31 deadline could have serious ramifications for business.
Morag Beattie, owner of licensing training firm MB Training, told SLTN: “If licensees fail to renew their licence and are a premises manager, then they risk their premises being closed and losing their business and livelihood.”
Louise Ramsay of DG Training said: “I am of the opinion that many people are still of the belief that they have until August 31 to submit their application and are unaware of the consequences.”
Beattie of MB Training urged PLHs who have yet to renew their licence by the May 31 deadline not to delay getting in touch with trainers and obtaining their refresher training certificate “as courses are already filling up and it may be that trainers are so busy then that it may be difficult to get booked on a course”.
If licensees fail to renew their licence and are a premises manager, they risk closure.
Gayle Butler, head of sales and business development at Tennent’s Training Academy, echoed Beattie’s message – stating that having trained just 284 people in PLH refresher since January, there may be a significant number of PLHs still to undertake the necessary training before the deadline.
This view was reinforced by figures obtained by SLTN this month, which revealed that some boards had received as little as 12% of the expected renewal applications ahead of the May 31 deadline.
Frances Ennis, senior associate at Pinsent Masons, said the reported submission figures make for grim reading.
She said: “Although there was much confusion, in no small part contributed to by the Scottish Government, a specified procedure and cost has now been in place for several months.
“Some boards are reporting that they have only received 10% of the expected licence renewal applications. With weeks to go before the deadline, this is a terrifying prospect.
“Best case scenario, these already overstretched boards will be dealing with hundreds of applications in a short period of time. Worst case, very little will be submitted and come June 1, it will be too late.”
Butler of Tennent’s Training Academy stressed that licensees must also allow enough time to receive their training certificate when renewing their personal licence.
She said: “We have added on additional courses and are advising all customers that they must have completed their training by May 10 to allow time to get the certificate back from the awarding body and sent into their licensing board.”
John MacAulay and Andrea MacAulay of the City of Glasgow College, which is running additional courses on Friday April 26, Tuesday May 7 and Wednesday May 22, said licensees whose personal licence expires on August 31, 2019 must “book their training without delay”.
