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Jonathan Hyldon reviews the law on 'irresponsible drinks promotions' in Scotland

With the increasing pre-occupation with the new mandatory conditions - and particularly irresponsible promotions - south of the border, we should not overlook the position in Scotland where mandatory conditions, including some in relation to irresponsible drinks promotions, came into force with the commencement of the Licensing (Scotland) Act in September 2009.

A drinks promotion (any activity which promotes, or seeks to promote, the buying or consumption of any alcohol on the premises) is defined in Scotland as "irresponsible" if it is carried on in or in connection with the premises and it:-

(a) relates specifically to an alcoholic drink likely to appeal largely to persons under the age of 18,
(b) involves the supply of an alcoholic drink free of charge or at a reduced price on the purchase of one or more drinks (whether or not alcoholic drinks) - e.g. buy 1, get 1 free,
(c) involves the supply free of charge or at a reduced price of one or more extra measures of an alcoholic drink on the purchase of one or more measures of the drink - e.g. a double for the price of a single,
(d) involves the supply of unlimited amounts of alcohol for a fixed charge (including any charge for entry to the premises) - e.g. £10 to enter, drink all you want for free.
(e) encourages, or seeks to encourage, a person to buy or consume a larger measure of alcohol than the person had otherwise intended to buy or consume,
(f) is based on the strength of any alcohol,
(g) rewards or encourages, or seeks to reward or encourage, drinking alcohol quickly, or
(h) offers alcohol as a reward or prize, unless the alcohol is in a sealed container and consumed off the premises.

Paragraphs (b) to (d) apply only to a drinks promotion carried on in relation to alcohol sold for consumption on the premises; (a) and (e) to (h) apply to both on and off sales.

Further, Scottish Ministers may, by regulations, modify the above to add further descriptions of drinks promotions, modify any of the existing descriptions of drinks promotions, or extend or restrict the application of any of those. They have yet to do so.

Linked with irresponsible drink promotions is the pricing of alcohol. Where there is to be a variation in drinks pricing, this may only be brought into effect at the beginning of a period of licensed hours. No further variation may then be brought into effect until the expiry of 72 hours from the coming into effect of the earlier price variation. Some operators are therefore trading with set prices from opening on Monday through to close of business on Thursdays and then varying the prices of many products in one go to cover the period Friday through to Sunday.

Clearly there are opportunities for innovative pricing structures in a variety of forms to get around these restrictions - which we are increasingly seeing in operation. If you would like to explore these with us, please get in touch.

Finally, it must not be forgotten that the provision of non-alcoholic drinks must be available for purchase at a reasonable price and free tap water must be provided on request.

For more information on irresponsible drinks promotions or the other mandatory conditions in Scotland, please do not hesitate to contact us.