Scotland - Travelling Funfairs (Licensing) (Scotland) Bill

On 29th April the Travelling Funfairs (Licensing) (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament.

In a statement announcing the new Bill, Richard Lyle MSP, stated that the Bill is needed to protect showpeople’s way of living. It also aims for funfairs to continue to be an aspect of 21st century life in Scotland, across the country.

The Bill is designed to make it easier for operators to put on travelling funfairs in Scotland. It creates a new licensing process

If voted into law, the new Bill, require funfairs in Scotland to have a public entertainment licence. The local council can charge operators for a licence and can decide not to grant a licence. This would mean that the funfair could not take place. Every local council can decide how much to charge and the time it takes to consider an application can vary.

This Bill changes the system for anyone applying for licences. It also changes how local councils decide whether to grant them. Operators will still need a licence to hold a travelling funfair under this Bill. A local council must grant the licence within 21 days as long as an operator meets certain application requirements.

The Bill also changes the fees for applying for a licence. Each application will cost £50. This is cheaper than licence applications currently cost in most local council areas.

The Bill does other related things like:

• making procedures for adding certain conditions to licences
• allowing appeals against a decision by a local council
• allowing local councils to search and inspect travelling funfairs

The Bill makes no changes to health and safety requirements and standards. These are dealt with by other laws.