Pubco directors could face prosecution under Licensing Act

Directors of pub companies could be prosecuted for breaches of the Licensing Act after a controversial amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing was published.

The original "vicarious liability" clause in the Licensing Act Scotland had restricted responsibility for offences to the person selling the alcohol and the their supervisor.

However, the amendment approved last week has widened those accountable to include "interested parties".

The move means directors of pubcos could be prosecuted as well as staff if they hold the premises licence or are deemed to be an "interested party" at a venue.

The amendment states that "the holder of the premises licence or an interested party is also guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly".

It states the only defences would be if they "did not know that the offence was being committed" or "exercised all due diligence to prevent the offence being committed".

Scottish Beer and Pub Association chief executive Patrick Browne said: "This has been included after police representations and means companies will have to be really careful about their due diligence procedures.

"But we don't yet know when this will come into effect."

Pub companies will also have to inform licensing boards when the managing director of the company changes