Scotland consultations

[sinless69uk]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lap- ... -krq2lhxbk

Paywall article from The Times 01/01/21 re Scottish national records for 2005.

The gist of the article is that Scotland abandoned any plans for a national ban on clubs after ministers were unable to link them to criminality or disorder. It also suggests that trade unions opposed a ban.

My favourite part is where it mentions Glasgow Council commissioning a study on the industry. It says "ministers later conceded it was of low quality and could not be used to justify imposing a national ban."

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

“The online consultation failed to attract suitable evidence to a sufficient degree, and planned face to face consultations with relevant stakeholders have not been possible."

In other words, members of the public didn't deliver the 'correct' result, and pressure groups relied on cherry-picked quotes from obviously biased and long-since debunked studies to present their case for an outright ban - right?

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

My favourite part is where it mentions Glasgow Council commissioning a study on the industry. It says "ministers later conceded it was of low quality and could not be used to justify imposing a national ban."

Yes, the now-infamous 'Bindel Report'. Why was she ever considered an expert on the topic of striptease in the first place?

[sinless69uk]

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... w-21577520

Article here looks fairly positive. It mentions protection of workers and perhaps grandfather rights for existing clubs. Given that Glasgow has always been anti-SEV in the past, I am wondering whether I should be optimistic about the future.

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

It sounds to me as though they've been studying the ongoing situation in England and Wales since 2010, which is refreshing.

[sinless69uk]

Edinburgh seem to be keen on a ban

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/ ... rs-3480501

Meanwhile Glasgow has grandfathered the 3 existing clubs

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/forces-nature ... 28773.html

Edinburgh and Glasgow seemed to have swapped places somewhat.

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

Edinburgh seem to be keen on a ban

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/ ... rs-3480501

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, sinless69uk.

Looking at the article, it reads to me as though:

* The council's SNP group is treating the complexities of SEV licensing seriously, and acknowledges that public opinion in Edinburgh is divided on the subject of strip clubs;
* The Labour group wants a ban (trotting out the usual stock excuses for one), but councillors realise that it may be difficult for them to impose one from a legal standpoint;
* The token Tory is making a song and dance about imposing a ban straight away, in order to score party political points - probably in the knowledge that it wouldn't be possible realistically (either that, or he's woefully ignorant on the matter)!


There's the standard quote from the representative of a cookie cutter radfem organisation, repeating the stock claim in relation to striptease that "commercial sexual exploitation is violence against women" (which is apparently included in the Scottish Government's strategy for eradicating violence against women, alluded to earlier in this thread), but the voices of the dancers themselves and those of any industry representatives have been excluded - surprise, surprise! The Edinburgh Evening News really has no excuse to not have interviewed any dancers about this, given how many of them were active in raising public awareness about the issue of licensing prior to the pandemic.

It should also be noted that this article is dated the 2nd of December 2021, so perhaps the best place to look for up-to-date information on this topic would be the council's own committee meeting minutes...

[sinless69uk]

I think you're a lot better at reading between the lines than I am!

[Nosara]

They got the result thay wanted -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... e-60952197

[sinless69uk]

Petition against nil caps now past 15000 signatures.

https://www.change.org/p/save-our-strip ... rect=false

[sinless69uk]

United Sex Workers crowdfunding legal challenge.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-save- ... e=customer

[pleasure_seeker]

There will be a judicial review of Edinburgh Council's decision. It is due to take place on Dec 1st and Dec 2nd.

The United Sex Workers (USW) union will be able to participate at the hearing after the pathetic attempt by the Council to prevent them was denied.

News summary here:-
Sex workers to fight strip club ban in court

[pleasure_seeker]

The latest from Edinburgh is that the council is now reviewing its ban on strip clubs. This may be hopeful news given that the composition of the council has changed since the ban was voted through.

Outcome of the judicial review - which may overturn the ban anyway - still awaited.

More on the council's review here:
Edinburgh Live

[sinless69uk]

Court overturns nil policy!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... e-64596835


I wonder how this ruling will affect councils who have nil policies with exemptions for existing clubs?

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

As this is in Scotland, I doubt that it will have any immediate legal implications for licensing authorities in England and Wales. However, it may set a precedent for similar legal challenges.

[sinless69uk]

Looking again at the Glasgow clubs licensed on 14/09/22. It seems their licences last for 3 years. Pity we can't have this in England and Wales as it would give clubs and dancers far more stability than the current annual licence hearings.

[sinless69uk]

Consultation open till 3 Oct.

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.u ... june-2023/

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

From the consultation front page:

"Following the consultation process the Council resolved to license SEVs, agreed that the appropriate number of SEVs within Edinburgh was zero, and agreed a SEV policy statement and conditions framework.

"Following a legal challenge, the Council’s determination of the appropriate number to be zero was struck down by the Court of Session.

"The Council is therefore now reconsidering the determination of an appropriate number of SEVs. At the same time the Council is reviewing the agreed SEV policy statement in light of the Court of Session’s decision.

As stated above, the Council is required to determine an appropriate number of SEVs permitted to operate in Edinburgh and each relevant locality. This consultation asks for views on what that number should be."


Then there's this particular sentence, which ought to serve as a reminder of the moral posturing which occured during the debate about SEV licensing in Scotland:

"Adoption of the powers to license Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) does not imply approval of these premises by the Council."

[sinless69uk]

Regulatory Committee due to meet 5 Feb. Licensing to take effect from 31 March.

https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/docu ... dition.pdf

Consultation results. City Centre 13.75% support NIL limit, 73.26% support No Limit. Interesting that number of responses to the consultation was 1993. Nowhere near as big an issue as in Bristol which had 6000+.

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

Reading between the lines of the linked report only slightly, it's very clear (as has been discussed here previously) that a faction of the City Council was attempting to use a ridiculous, ideologically inspired (and arguably, very moralistic) definition of 'violence against women and girls' as leverage to enforce a 'nil' policy.

The result of the latest public consultation must be a real slap in the face for them!

[sinless69uk]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... h-32055324

Councillors voted 7-2 to have 3 club limit (only Labour councillors voted against).
Interestingly, there is an option for a worker-run club which feels pretty enlightened.

The Scottish Government is still keen on the "sex work is violence against women" line so there is still likely to be opposition in the future.

[The Great Smell Of Brute]

I see that Labour councillor Val Walker attempted to advance the 'slippery slope' non-argument regarding sex work - dear, oh dear!