SBPA hits out at Edinburgh licensing delays

A licensing board in Scotland has come under fire for delays with the issuing of personal licences.

The Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SBPA) hit out at the City of Edinburgh Licensing Board after discovering a licensee has been waiting for more than six months to receive his.

It is understood the board is still finalising details of the style of licence.

Patrick Browne, chief executive of the SBPA, said: "There will be at least 2,000 personal licence holder applications submitted to the Edinburgh board over the next seven months and possibly as many as double that number.

"The fact the board haven't even processed and issued the licences they have already granted means that it is very likely there will be a backlog of applications which could cause problems as we approach September 1."

In order to continue trading after that date, under the new Licensing Act pubs have to a have a new premises licence and the named manager has to hold a personal licence.

In September last year the Edinburgh Licensing Board accepted there had been delays, but vowed it would be resolved "within the next month".