Scottish licensing laws have recently brought more into line with general UK licensing laws, allowing on-licence establishments with appropriate licences to remain open and sell alcohol for more or less 24 hours a day.
Off-licence sale of alcohol, however, is restricted to sales after 10:00, as opposed to 12:30 PM from before. During the week, these shops may sell alcohol up to closing time of pubs and bars, provided they have closed for at least an hour during the lunch period.
On Sundays, sales of alcohol from off-licence premises are restricted to the normal Sunday trading hours, namely 10:00 to 18:00.
As it stands, many off-licence shops either only open during lunch and then again in the evening, or restricting their alcohol sales to their normal business hours, as is the case with most supermarket chains.
The new regulations have caused a great deal of confusion and resentment with both landlords and shop-owners, as the initial change-over period required a lot of paperwork and many establishments are now required to hold a variety of additional licences.
Due to the enormous upheaval this has caused nationwide, many were left hanging in mid-air as a result of drawn out processes and delayed responses from agencies due to a work-overload.
Whether the changes are likely to affect Scotland's already growing alcohol- related problems remains to be seen. Opinions seem to be divided into two main groups:
Those who believe extended drinking hours will create more problems and those who believe that drink-related problems will subside, as they no longer present a 'need to drink quickly before closing time', reducing rapid binge drinking and the accompanying effects.
Either way, it is now possible to drink more in Scotland than ever before.
Off-licence sale of alcohol, however, is restricted to sales after 10:00, as opposed to 12:30 PM from before. During the week, these shops may sell alcohol up to closing time of pubs and bars, provided they have closed for at least an hour during the lunch period.
On Sundays, sales of alcohol from off-licence premises are restricted to the normal Sunday trading hours, namely 10:00 to 18:00.
As it stands, many off-licence shops either only open during lunch and then again in the evening, or restricting their alcohol sales to their normal business hours, as is the case with most supermarket chains.
The new regulations have caused a great deal of confusion and resentment with both landlords and shop-owners, as the initial change-over period required a lot of paperwork and many establishments are now required to hold a variety of additional licences.
Due to the enormous upheaval this has caused nationwide, many were left hanging in mid-air as a result of drawn out processes and delayed responses from agencies due to a work-overload.
Whether the changes are likely to affect Scotland's already growing alcohol- related problems remains to be seen. Opinions seem to be divided into two main groups:
Those who believe extended drinking hours will create more problems and those who believe that drink-related problems will subside, as they no longer present a 'need to drink quickly before closing time', reducing rapid binge drinking and the accompanying effects.
Either way, it is now possible to drink more in Scotland than ever before.
