Licensing of Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) Consultation

Stirling Council is consulting on whether it should licence Sexual Entertainment Venues.

Stirling Council is the licensing authority for the area of Stirling in relation to a wide range of activities.

Legislation provides local authorities with the power to licence Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs). The legislation does not make it mandatory to licence SEVs, it is for each local authority to determine whether it wishes to licence SEVs. If Stirling Council chooses to licence SEVs, it can also set a limit on the number of SEVs operating in Stirling.

What is a sexual entertainment venue?

A SEV is defined as a premises where sexual entertainment is performed before a live audience for (or with a view to) the financial gain of the organiser and where it is the sole or principal purpose of sexually stimulating any member of the audience. This does not include premises where sexual entertainment is provided on no more than four occasions on a twelve-month period.

Current Position

The current position is that there are no SEVs operating within Stirling, and premises of this type do not require a licence to operate in Stirling.

This consultation asks whether SEVs should be licensed in Stirling. If following the consultation, Stirling Council decides to licence SEVs, any SEV that intends to open in Stirling would require to apply for a SEV licence. If Stirling Council chooses to licence SEVs, a draft SEV policy statement would be subject to a separate consultation process.

If Stirling Council decides to not licence SEVs, these venues will be able to operate without any regulation from the local authority.

The licensing of SEVs does not mean a licence will automatically be granted for this type of venue. There are various grounds for refusal of a SEV licence grant or renewal application, including that the number of SEVs in the local authority area or the relevant locality at the time the application is made is equal to or exceeds the number which the local authority consider is appropriate for that locality.

Why regulate Sexual Entertainment Venues?

The purpose of regulating this type of activity is to help achieve the following objectives:

• Preserve public safety
• Preserve public order
• Prevent public nuisance
• Prevent crime
• Protect children and young people from harm, and
• Reduce violence against women