Victory for the Co-op (and Young & Partners)

Tom Johnston has successfully represented The Co-operative Food in a review application considered by Aberdeen Licensing Board. Following a single test purchase failure at a store in Springfield Road, Aberdeen, Grampian Police had sought a review of the premises licence, claiming that the business had breached the licensing objectives contained in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. Accompanied by Adrian Hill, The Co-operative’s National Diligence Manager from Manchester, Tom explained the business’s detailed training policy and procedures to prevent such occurrences.

Describing The Co-operative’s procedure manual as one of the best he had ever seen, Tom also explained the sophisticated checks and balances within the store’s till systems. It was quite obvious, he said, that the employee in question had simply had a careless moment. The business was able to demonstrate that the staff member had been fully trained, and that there was nothing else which it, as licence holder, could have done.

The board agreed, and decided to take no action. Commenting on the case, Adrian Hill said, “I saw Tom Johnston in action at a licensing board a few months ago. When this case came up we decided he was the man for the job. We are very pleased with the outcome. It vindicates all the hard work we put into developing our systems and training our staff.”