Police Scotland

The Police are required to carry out a variety of licensing enquires and in Moray we have dedicated staff in our Licensing Unit with this responsibility.

Currently, the main remit of the unit is concerned with the conversion of licences issued under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 to the new Premises Licences issued under the 2005 Act.   Each application generates a detailed investigation into the applicant and connected persons, the Operating Plan and the Layout Plan.  Premises are visited and the applicant is normally interviewed.  An internal report is compiled following the investigation.  Where necessary, relevant matters are referred to the Clerk to the Licensing Board and if a hearing is deemed appropriate, a senior Police Officer will attend as the representative of the Chief Constable.

The Unit also conducts investigations into all applications to Moray Licensing Board for Personal Licences under the 2005 Act.  Applicants are interviewed and relevant matters brought to the notice of the Clerk.

In order to comply with the deadlines set for the submission of statutory notices, the Police must complete each investigation within twenty one days of receipt.  This very short time-scale is often demanding, particularly when handling multiple simultaneous applications.