PUBS across Scotland are warning they may have to close their doors in two months' time amid claims that plans for new licensing laws have fallen into chaos.
Supermarkets say they also fear they may be unable to train up staff to cope with the new laws before they come into place on 1 September.
Every licensed store and pub in the country must comply with the new laws by September when the new Lic
ensing Act, made law by MSPs in 2005, comes into force.
The new laws mark the biggest change to Scotland's alcohol laws in 30 years. Supermarkets will be barred from selling drink before 10am and will be told to restrict alcohol to certain designated parts of the store.
The public will get new rights to challenge licences, putting pubs and clubs which cause problems in local communities under notice of closure.
But licensees are now warning that the preparations for the new act have become a bureaucratic nightmare.
Under the new legislation, licensees are required to have three pieces of paper before they can sell drink – a premises licence, a personal licence and a training certificate enabling them to inform staff on how to sell drink.
Many premises have met the deadline to get the various new licences but the body which represents pubs in Scotland says there is growing evidence that many are nowhere near getting their own premises ready for the change-over.
Paul Waterston, the chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "Without a doubt there will be some pubs that won't get this done in time. There is a lot of confusion out there because people think that if they've got a training certificate they are OK. That's not the case."
Waterston said that police chiefs have already said they will not allow any flexibility to pubs and clubs which have not got the necessary paperwork, meaning many may be forced to close temporarily while the red tape is sorted.
In the off-trade, stores insist they will be open for business come 1 September, but they fear that the delays in processing applications means they will not have enough staff authorised to sell drink.
Scotland on Sunday understands that Asda has sent 418 personal licence applications but, as of the end of last month, had only received 175 licences back. Sainsbury's meanwhile has made 360 applications but has only received 160 back.
The bigger stores, which must train as many as 10,000 staff before September, were hoping to have already carried out the work by now, but are still having to wait because they have not yet received personal licences from the local boards.
A spokesman for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association last night called on Scottish ministers to step in to resolve the crisis immediately.
He said: "Retailers are trying to comply with the new arrangements but delays by licensing boards threaten to prevent stores from having the trained staff in place to sell alcohol to customers. We urge ministers to step in and resolve these issues so that retailers can meet the 1 September deadline."
A spokeswoman for First Quench Retailing, which runs off-licences such as Wine Rack, Thresher and Haddows, added: "Like other retailers FQR is experiencing some delays in the granting of premises licences and more particularly personal licences in Scotland. If left unresolved, a backlog in the grant of personal licences would potentially have an effect in terms of our ability to train staff in the sale of alcohol, as required by the Act."
However, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Many members of the Trade have met the challenge of submitting their premises licences within the required deadlines. We are listening to the concerns raised but the onus is on the trade to get their personal licence applications submitted."
The full article contains 646 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
