Annual functions report under section 9A for Financial Year 2025 to 2026

Executive overview

This report gives an evidence-led account of how North Ayrshire Licensing Board exercised its alcohol licensing functions during the financial year, 2025 to 2026. It is structured around the matters Scottish Ministers require the Board to report:

• the five licensing objectives;
• the Licensing Policy Statement;
• overprovision policy;
• decisions made by or on behalf of the Board;
• and licence holdings and occasional licensing activity.

At a glance: principal 2025 to 2026 measures

Key outcomes

• Stable portfolio. The total number of premises licences increased from 383 to 384; changes within on-sales, off-sales and combined categories were small.
• Temporary licensing remained substantial. The Board granted 681 occasional licences, 0.9% more than in 2024 to 2025 but below the 723 granted in 2023 to 2024.
• Regulatory action was targeted. One premises review resulted in suspension. Two personal licences were revoked under section 83; no section 84 or section 86 action was recorded.
• Training-cycle revocations fell. Section 87(3) revocations fell from 267 to 79. These are statutory consequences of missing refresher-training evidence deadlines and are affected by the timing of five-year licence cohorts.
• World Cup planning. On 16 February 2026 the Board rejected a blanket hours extension and adopted an individual-application route. By 31 March, 57 premises had applied across 336 dates; no World Cup occasional-licence applications were received.
• The figures are not an approval-rate dataset. Applications received and applications determined may fall in different reporting years, so grants and refusals should not be divided by applications received.

1. Purpose, scope and statutory basis

Section 9A of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 requires every Licensing Board to prepare and publish an annual functions report for each financial year. The report must explain how the Board had regard to the licensing objectives and its Licensing Policy Statement (including the section 7 overprovision statement and any supplementary statement), summarise decisions made by or on behalf of the Board, and provide information about licences held in the area, including occasional licences issued during the year.

The reporting period is 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The report concerns the Board's alcohol licensing functions under the 2005 Act. It does not report on gambling licensing or replace the separate annual financial report required by section 9B.

Reporting approach

The Scottish Government's revised section 142 guidance, issued in January 2023, says that an annual functions report should principally show how a Board adhered to its policies and promoted the licensing objectives, rather than operate as a procedural manual. This report therefore links policy, decisions and outcomes, and separates verified activity from interpretation.

See section 9A of the 2005 Act and the 2023 Scottish Government guidance.

Status of the Board

North Ayrshire Licensing Board is the licensing authority for the North Ayrshire area. It is a separate legal decision-maker from North Ayrshire Council, although its members are councillors and the Council provides the staff, accommodation, information and other support needed for the Board to carry out its functions. The Board acts independently when determining individual licensing matters.

2. The Board, its decisions and public meetings

During 2025 to 2026 the Board comprised nine elected members of North Ayrshire Council. The Board held five public meetings. Agendas, reports and approved minutes are available through the Council's committee management system.

Public Board meetings held in 2025 to 2026

Decisions at meetings and under delegated authority

The 2005 Act and the Board's arrangements allow routine matters to be decided by the Clerk or another authorised officer where the statutory requirements are met and no unresolved issue requires a hearing. Contested applications, review proceedings and matters raising material policy or licensing-objective issues are considered by the Board where legislation or the circumstances require it.

An example of case-specific decision-making

At its meeting on 28 April 2025, the Board considered a provisional premises licence application and three variation applications. It considered written reports and oral submissions, heard relevant objections, applied standard conditions to the provisional grant and, in one variation, limited the use of an outdoor drinking area for alcohol consumption to between 11am and 10pm. Another application was determined by a recorded 4-3 vote after members considered whether a site visit was needed. The minute illustrates individual consideration, transparent voting and the targeted use of conditions.

World Cup 2026: extended-hours arrangements

At its meeting on 16 February 2026, the Board considered agenda item 4, 'FIFA World Cup 2026 - Extended Hours'. The Clerk's report set out three routes: a general extension under section 67 of the 2005 Act; individual extended-hours applications under section 68, with occasional licences under section 56 for venues without a premises licence; or no special action. It also identified the concentrated processing and consultation workload and the need to address all five licensing objectives.

The Board decided not to make a general extension. Instead, it invited individual applications to be determined through the usual procedures. That retained premises-specific scrutiny and the ability to apply proportionate conditions. Applications could cover any World Cup fixture, not only Scotland matches, and were due by 31 March 2026. Successful extensions could run until 30 minutes after the final whistle, subject to safeguards including no admission or re-admission during the hour before kick-off.

The service has confirmed that, by the deadline, 57 premises had submitted extended-hours applications covering 336 dates and no World Cup occasional-licence applications had been received. This was meaningful uptake by existing licensed premises and created a concentrated administrative exercise spanning application receipt, consultation, determination, communication and later implementation. The figures below record applications received, not grants.

World Cup exercise at 31 March 2026

See the 16 February 2026 Board meeting and agenda and the council's World Cup opening hours notice.

3. How the licensing objectives were promoted

Section 4 of the 2005 Act sets five licensing objectives. They are the organising principles for the Board's policy, conditions, application decisions and review work. No single statistic can demonstrate an objective; the evidence lies in the combination of information considered, controls applied and formal outcomes.

3.1 Preventing crime and disorder

Police Scotland information, relevant and foreign offence notifications, the management and compliance history of premises, staff training, refusal-of-service arrangements and incident controls inform decisions where crime or disorder may be engaged. The Licensing Policy Statement also addresses underage sales, weapons, antisocial behaviour and responsible management.

In 2025 to 2026, two personal licences were revoked through the section 83 conviction-notice procedure. There were no endorsements, suspensions or no-action outcomes under that section. These were formal personal-licence outcomes; the report does not infer the underlying facts beyond the statutory category recorded.

3.2 Securing public safety

The Board considers the proposed operation, layout and capacity of premises; entry, exit and dispersal; stewarding and event management; late opening; outdoor areas; and representations from responsible authorities. Mandatory and standard conditions establish a consistent baseline, while case-specific conditions can address risks arising from a particular premises or event.

The 681 occasional licences granted during the year were subject to the controls applicable to temporary alcohol sales, including the mandatory conditions and the relevant North Ayrshire standard conditions. Contested or policy-sensitive applications can be referred for Board determination.

3.3 Preventing public nuisance

Hours, amplified music and entertainment, outdoor drinking and smoking areas, deliveries, waste, patron dispersal and the effect on neighbours are considered where relevant. Conditions may limit activities or hours where that is appropriate and proportionate.

The 28 April 2025 variation decision described in section 2 is a concrete example: the Board granted the application after the applicant withdrew one element and imposed a specific 11am to 10pm limit for alcohol in the outdoor drinking area.

3.4 Protecting and improving public health

The Board's principal strategic tool for this objective is its evidence-based overprovision policy. New premises licence applications and variations that increase alcohol capacity are considered in the context of locality, premises function, capacity, the wider availability of alcohol and properly submitted public health evidence. The policy creates rebuttable presumptions, not automatic outcomes.

Ten new or provisional premises licence applications were received and eight were determined under section 23 during the year: seven grants and one refusal. Because application and determination cohorts may cross financial years, and because the supplied aggregate data do not record the grounds in each case, those figures are not presented as a measure of public-health decision-making on their own.

3.5 Protecting children and young persons from harm

The Board considers the terms on which children and young persons may access premises, the suitability of activities and entertainment, safeguarding, age-verification and refusal controls, supervision and staff training. The Licensing Policy Statement expects compliance with Challenge 25 and treats underage drinking as an issue for the whole licensed trade, including both on-sales and off-sales premises.

The standard conditions for occasional licences require those selling or serving alcohol to hold a personal licence or to have received the statutory staff training, with the licence or training record available to the Licensing Standards Officer on request.

4. Regard to the Licensing Policy Statement

The operative policy throughout 2025 to 2026 was the North Ayrshire Licensing Board Licensing Policy Statement 2023 to 2027. It was adopted at a special meeting on 23 October 2023 and applies to the four-year licensing policy period beginning 5 November 2023. No supplementary Licensing Policy Statement was in force during the reporting year.

4.1 Individual merits and policy presumptions

The Board has regard to the policy when deciding applications and reviews but does not apply it as a rigid rule. Applicants may seek a departure and must address the relevant policy. The Board considers the evidence and statutory tests in the individual case. A policy indication that an application is likely to be refused or granted establishes a starting presumption; it does not predetermine the result.

4.2 Overprovision

Section 7 overprovision statement - practical effect

4.3 Other policy controls

Policy controls used across the Board's work

5. Licences, applications and decisions

This section provides the statutory summary of licences and decisions. It uses the verified figures supplied for 2025 to 2026 and the two preceding annual functions reports. PPL means provisional premises licence.

Table 1 - Licence profile and LSO resource

Source: 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 annual functions reports; 2025 to 2026 licensing system figures.

Table 2 - New and provisional premises licence applications

Applications received and section 23 determinations are separate measures; a determination may relate to an application received in another financial year.

Table 3 - Premises licence review outcomes

Table 4 - Occasional licences

Table 5 - Personal licence applications and review outcomes

Section 84 and section 86 each recorded zero endorsements, suspensions, revocations and no-action outcomes in all three years.

Meaning of the personal licence categories

6. Licensing Standards Officer and partnership working

6.1 Licensing Standards Officer

North Ayrshire Council provided 1.0 full-time-equivalent Licensing Standards Officer resource at 31 March 2026. The Council is required to appoint at least one LSO. The role supports the licensing system by providing information and guidance, supervising compliance with premises and occasional licence conditions, providing mediation where appropriate, and reporting relevant matters to the Board.

The current Licensing Standards Officer took up post in June 2025. The reporting year therefore includes a substantial but not complete year under the appointment. That timing should be kept in view when future reports compare inspection, mediation and compliance activity, although the recorded resource at 31 March 2026 remained 1.0 FTE.

The LSO is not the Board's employee or agent and does not provide legal advice. The role is nevertheless an important operational link between licence holders, communities, Police Scotland, Council services and the Board. The Scottish Government guidance encourages early, collaborative resolution where possible, with formal review available where concerns cannot be resolved or require Board action.

6.2 Partners and evidence

The Board's functions sit within a wider system involving the Clerk and licensing staff, the LSO, Police Scotland, NHS Ayrshire and Arran and public health interests, Environmental Health, applicants and licence holders, residents, community interests and other statutory consultees. Their evidence is considered only to the extent relevant to the statutory tests, the licensing objectives and the application or review before the Board.

6.3 Local Licensing Forum

A Local Licensing Forum is a statutory advisory body separate from the Board. It monitors the operation of the licensing system and may provide general advice and recommendations, but it does not decide or comment on individual cases.

7. Fairness, equality, transparency and access

7.1 Fair process

Applicants, objectors and those making representations are given notice and an opportunity to address the Board in accordance with the legislation and the circumstances of the case. Members consider the material properly before them, may ask questions and may retire to deliberate. Decisions are taken in public. Where reasons are required, they are recorded in the minute or provided in a written statement as appropriate.

The Board recognises that participants may be unrepresented. Its published meeting advice explains the hearing process, the information that can be considered and matters that may have to be excluded. Requests for continuation or other procedural adjustments are considered on their merits and with regard to fairness to all parties.

7.2 Equality and accessibility

During the reporting year the Board published its Mainstreaming Report 2025 to 2027 and Equality Outcomes 2025 to 2029. The outcomes focus on accessible and inclusive licensed premises, wider participation by underrepresented groups, and fair and transparent decision-making. The report also commits to accessible information and Equality and Children's Rights Impact Assessments for major policy decisions.

7.3 Public information

Routes to licensing information and support

8. Conclusion

During 2025 to 2026 North Ayrshire Licensing Board continued to exercise its alcohol licensing functions with regard to the five licensing objectives and the Licensing Policy Statement 2023 to 2027. Its work combined public Board hearings, delegated administration, standard and case-specific conditions, compliance support and formal review action where required.

The year-end premises portfolio was stable, occasional licensing remained substantial and the personal licence register increased. The Board recorded one premises suspension, two section 83 personal-licence revocations and 79 statutory section 87(3) revocations. The report presents those outcomes transparently without treating aggregate figures as a substitute for the evidence and reasons in individual cases.

World Cup preparation was also a material policy and workload item. This report records the Board's February 2026 decision and the applications received by year-end; the 2026 to 2027 report should complete the account by recording the relevant determinations and the operational experience from the tournament.

Taken with the published policy, agendas, reports, minutes, licensing register and equality report, this annual functions report provides a proportionate public account of how the Board discharged its statutory functions during the financial year.