A: Where a premises licence is refused, there’s a one-year ban on the submission of a further application unless (a) the licensing board decides otherwise at the time of refusal; or (b) there has been a “material change of circumstances”. There’s nothing to prevent re-application for a personal licence at any time.

A: You’ve provided me with a photo of hotel signage taken by you informing guests that Scottish licensing law only allows the consumption of alcohol sold by the business. It does no such thing. Even during the “circuit breaker” the law allowed hotel residents to consume alcohol purchased elsewhere provided the consumption took place in their rooms. A hotel may have its own “house rule” but how that might be enforced is another matter.

A: I’m not sure where the illegality is supposed to arise. There can’t be any challenge to running the tab. So far as payments are concerned, health advice suggests that contactless card payments are the safest option. However, although there are concerns that banknotes and coins pose a COVID-19 transmission risk, there’s no evidence that they’re riskier than other everyday items. The Scottish Government’s guidance for the retail sector “encourages” the use of contact-free or cashless payments where possible, but it’s not obligatory. It would be a good idea to ensure that staff handling payments follow enhanced hand cleaning routines.

A: In the absence of any alcohol sales, a private hospitality event such as this does not require to be licensed.

A: There’s no law to prevent this, but for obvious commercial reasons it’s not something that’s normally allowed by the business owners.

A: You haven’t told me the position in relation to children’s function room access and the answer really depends on an examination of the current operating plan arrangements. The fact that alcohol wouldn’t be sold doesn’t rule out the possibility that a non-minor variation of the licence may be required.

A: That would only be possible if your licence was varied to allow the sale of alcohol for off-consumption. However, you’d have to bear in mind that off-sales alcohol must be (a) purchased during licensed hours; and (b) must be removed not later than 15 minutes from the end of those hours. The terminal hour for off-sales is normally 10pm, no doubt shorter than your on-sales hours.

A: You need a licence. There are no circumstances in which free drink can be provided where the supply is linked to a payment for goods and services. Possible loopholes were closed with the arrival of the 2005 Licensing Act.

A: If the retailer dispatches alcohol orders from south of the border Scottish licensing law doesn’t apply. However, even if the Licensing (Scotland) Act governed the transaction, I can’t see anything prohibiting the minimum order requirement. There are eight types of so-called “irresponsible promotions” but three don’t apply to the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises. One of these is a promotion that “encourages, or seeks to encourage, a person to buy or consume a larger measure of alcohol than the person had otherwise intended to buy or consume”. I suppose if you asked a server for a pint and were told you could only buy two (a pretty unlikely scenario) there might be a contravention, although I reckon the primary purpose of that provision is to prevent up-selling. Of course, it’s common for off-sale retailers to restrict the sale of some beers and ciders to multi-packs: if a product can be purchased singly, linear pricing would apply.

A: It entirely depends on the terms of the licence. This pub would appear to have licensed hours starting at 8am but with permission to supply food and non-alcoholic drinks from 7am.

A: A licence operating plan requires to set out the activities that will take place on the premises apart from the sale of alcohol as well as the times they’ll take place. If an activity takes place outwith core licensed hours, further details are required. The level of detail pretty much depends on the requirements of individual licensing boards. In some areas it would be sufficient to say something along the lines of, “The premises may open before the commencement of licensed hours for the sale of food and non-alcoholic refreshments”. However, a number of boards look for more precision and expect a statement of the time the activity will start. This can lead to potentially awkward results. Suppose, for example, an operating plan provided that a hotel will serve breakfasts from 7am and a decision was taken to change that time. In such a case the licence holder would be subjected to the trouble and expense of applying for a major variation of the licence.

A: Any person who sells or serves alcohol (other than the holder of a personal licence) requires to undertake the mandatory two-hour training course. His or her training record must be kept at the premises and produced to a licensing standards officer on request. The supervision you describe doesn’t allow you to skip the training obligation.