Local Licensing Forums

Hi everyone,
I thought it best to let you know that the Conference in Aviemore run by Alcohol Focus Scotland is now fully booked. We are expecting 190 delegates to attend the conference, which is a large increase in the numbers from last year. This is an indication of the popularity and success of this conference and it should prove to be a very informative and thought provoking 2 days. We are expecting Conveners of Forums, Chairs of Licensing Boards, Police, Lawyers,
Licensing Standards Officers, members of the Licensing Trade and many others who can make a valuable contribution. The transition period has thrown up many issues for debate and the conference will give everyone the opportunity to have a in depth review of the 2005 Act and issues around alcohol.

Conveners of Forums will be offered an open debate on their role, the progress of their Forum, the role of the forum members and how they work in partnership with Licensing Boards and their community.
Forum Conveners will be discussing future training needs and what is the best way to address their needs. I am hoping to arrange Regional training for Conveners, followed by a national day in the future, with a central venue for easier travel.

The Chairpersons/Conveners have an opportunity to attend various workshops which relate to the role of LLF's L.S.O.'s and how the Police input to both Forum and Boards. Members of Forums/Boards have a choice of attending workshops which could help them better understand the workings of the new act and how to network to improve their Forum.

It would appear that some Forums are having difficulty accessing Admin support, particularly if they meet out with normal working hours. Other forums are expressing a difficulty with finance and budgets for their Forums. Again, this is an area where the Conference can take a more global perspective and you may wish to use this conference to debate these issues.

At the conference,I will give an up date on "what's working" (conference theme)with Local Licensing Forums. The fact that 40 Forums are now up and running is a good start, but other aspects require to be implemented throughout the country.

I am certainly looking forward to the debate, but this is your conference and if you have any areas you wish me to address during the 2 days please post them on this blog!

Kind Regards
John Mcfarlane
National Licensing Officer.

Hi everyone,
I have been meaning to put some examples of good practice in the site for your perusal.Here are some aspects of good practice nationally: The West Lothian Forum have decided to have bimonthly meetings as they have a busy agenda and are very active in their community. They have recently looked at the balance of their Forum and are working with youth groups to improve young peoples representation on the Forum. The Police on the Forum are assisting with diversionary activities for youth in the Forums area.
The members of the Forum have identified "Forum priorities" for the future and will put these to the Licensing Board at the annual meeting. The Forum is involved in The Blackburn Community Alcohol Project which aims to tackle alcohol problems within a community setting. The Convener of the Forum links with the Project Officer and He has attended the Forum to discuss his role with them.
Many of the stakeholders on the Forum are involved with initiatives locally and bring this experience to the Forum during discussions.
West Lothian are a good example of a Forum working closely with their community. They are also making inroads to achieving a better standard of publicity for their Forum, which they are doing by using the existing resources at Local Authority level.

Another Forum I visited recently had appointed a young person as Convener and He is doing an excellent job in that role, but He also brings a different perspective in terms of a youthful dimension. This Forum also used the Local Authority publicity and Marketing department to photograph the Forum in action, then published it to the Authority web site and through the local newspapers.

I would like Forums to use this site to give examples of good practice which can be shared with others. Thanks to West Lothian for allowing me to use their procedures at this level.

May I take this opportunity to ask Conveners what type of training they would like to be involved in at Aviemore on 3/4th September.
What are your issues? What would you like to discuss? What type of support do you think you should be given nationally and locally?

Please be in contact through this site to put your concerns , or ideas forward.

Kind Regards.

John McFarlane
National Licensing Officer.

Hi everyone,
I have been on holiday and now wish to update you on events.
We are hoping for a better response from Forum Conveners to attend the National conference (free) on 3rd and 4th September. To date the response is fairly low and I would emphasise that if the Convener cannot respond, then a suitable substitute should be in place. Please take this opportunity to meet other Conveners and share good practice across the Forums.
The National Licensing Forum is still alive as an issue, but will operate in a different way than in the past. The Minister met with representatives of AFS and Forums, but decided that the best way forward is to work within COSLA and operate under that banner.
However, this is still ongoing and I will keep you informed.

Over the summer months there are important events happening where Forums should make a response. Changing Scotlands relationship with Alcohol is a consultation document which Forums should review and then send a response to government. The other important event is Alcohol Awareness week starting 0n 5th October. This is an opportunity for Forums to publicise themselves and use this as a gateway to meeting your community by having some initiatives in place at local level.

I am in the process of writing a report to the Government on the progress of Forums, also a template strategy plan for Forums and a good practice guide. Please take this opportunity to respond to me if you feel there are pressing issues that need to be addressed regarding the devlopment of LLF's.

I look forward to any comments you may have.

Kind Regards

John McFarlane
National Licensing Officer

Hi everyone,
I am now very close to completing all training for Licensing Forums and to date this has gone very well, with lots of good ideas and examples of good practice taking place.
I will be sending out a good practice guide for Forum in the near future and will also give examples of good practice soon after this.

We are keen to hear your views regarding what type of training Conveners may require when at the Aviemore Conference in September.
One possibility is to use this as an opportunity to share information and discuss specific issues you may want to highlight. My intention is to have longer training session with Conveners later in the year, but on a regional basis, which may help address local issues relevant to your area.

Two operational aspects which continually come to the Fore are publicity for your Forum and finance in support of Forums.
District councils should support Forums financially and should have monies from two recent Licensing Fee returns in March and June.

One Forum I visited employed the Councils own Publicity and Marketing dept to photograph Forum members at work and then placed the information in the local newspaper. Forums should be on the Councils web site and have regular contact to their own community.

AFS are holding a Licensing and Health Seminar on 24th June.
The aim of the Seminar is to establish what impact Licensing Boards/Forums in Scotland and Europe are having with regard to Health. Mathew Plunkett (researcher) has assessed this area and will give his findings to invited guests. I will keep you informed of the outcomes.

Please remember that Conveners of Forums go free to the 2 day training at Aviemore on 3/4th September.

Kind Regards

John McFarlane
National Licensing Officer.

Hi everyone,
thought I would draw your attention to two important events coming up from the Scottish government. The first of these is the "Alcohol Debate" which aims to take on board the feelings of the public regarding consumption of alcohol. Although this does not have a separate area for Forums/Boards to respond within, I would urge you to make a contribution by identifying yourself as a Forum with an opinion that should be heard. www.alcoholdebate.com is the web address and all replies can be made this way.
The second event starts June and is the beginning of a strategy programme running for 3 months during the summer.
Once again, I would urge you all to become involved in this debate by putting your philosophy forward to the Goverment in written form and explaining to them what strategies you feel as a Forum they need to address. Don't forget the National Licensing forum!

I am happy to inform you all that the Convener of each Forum in Scotland is invited to attend our national Conference in Aviemore
Free of Charge! This has taken a bit of time to get resolved, but I am now in a position to offer training for Conveners as part of the conference package. This offer is for Conveners only, as I feel they
are in an important position regarding the progress of Forums.
(Additional information will follow)

Just a final reminder to you all that training for Highland Region takes place in Inverness on 13th June, please make sure you apply
as soon as possible. (all welcome)

Iam heartened by what I observe going round the country and although these can be difficult times, there is alot of good practice going on out there. Keep it going!

Kind Regards

John McFarlane
National Licensing Officer.