UK Act of Parliament 1982 United Kingdom

Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982

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At a glance

Enforced by

Local Authority

What's here

75 compliance obligations, 3 practical guides · 4 journeys

Penalty landscape

15 of 75 obligations carry a fine up to £1,000. 27 carry different penalties and 33 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 45
  • Trader 6
  • Landlord 2
  • Occupier 2
  • Director or Officer 1

Plus 19 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

2 guides

Mentioned in related content

1 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Traders also bound by 219 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Landlords also bound by 70 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Occupiers also bound by 101 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part I — Licensing—General Provisions

s.007

Offences, etc.

2 years imprisonment
  • Operate without a required civic licence or breach licence conditions Any Person
Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.003

Mandatory licence conditions

s.003

Standard licence conditions

Part II — Licensing and Regulation—Particular Activities

s.017

Taxi fares.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authorities must review and fix taxi fare scales every 18 months Local authority
s.018

Publication and coming into effect of taxi fares

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authority must publish and set start dates for taxi fare scales Local authority
s.021

Offences.

Fine up to £2,500
  • Operate an unlicensed taxi or private hire vehicle Any Person
s.027

Applications for knife dealers' licences: notice

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authority must give public notice of knife dealer applications Local authority
s.027

Knife dealers' licences: conditions

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authority must attach specific conditions to knife dealers' licences Local authority
s.027

Provision of information to holder of knife dealer's licence

Fine up to £1,000
  • Provide false information to a licensed knife dealer Any Person
s.027

Powers of constables and authorised officers

  • Refuse entry to or obstruct constable/authorised officer executing a warrant Any Person
s.027

Power to inspect documents

Fine up to £1,000
  • Fail to produce documents for knife dealer inspection Any Person
s.027

Offences by partnerships

  • Partner liable for partnership knife‑related offences Any Person
s.027

Appropriate licence required

  • Obtain both second-hand and knife dealer licences if applicable Trader
s.027

Duty to avoid conflict between conditions of licences

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authority must prevent conflicting dealer licence conditions Local authority
s.033

Acceptable forms of payment for metal

Unlimited fine
  • Making or receiving illegal cash payments for scrap metal Any Person
s.033

Form of records

  • Maintain scrap metal records in the prescribed format Trader
s.033

Metal dealer to keep records for each place of business

  • Maintain separate records for each metal dealing business location Trader
s.038

Boat hire licences.

Fine up to £2,500
  • Operate a hire boat without valid insurance Any Person
s.044

Additional activities.

60 days imprisonment
  • Carry out a designated activity without a required licence Any Person
Browse 31 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.013

Persons disqualified by reason of immigration status

s.027

Knife dealers' licences

s.027

Knife dealers' licences: warrants to enter, search and seize articles

s.027

Sections 27E to 27G: interpretation

s.027

Forfeiture orders

s.027

Effect of forfeiture order

s.027

Remote sales of knives etc.

s.027

Sales and dispatches in different local authority areas

s.027

Offences in relation to knife dealers' licences: exceptions

s.027

Orders under sections 27A to 27R

s.033

Acceptable forms of payment: meaning of “bank or building society account”

s.033

Requirement to keep records

s.035

Register of metal dealers and itinerant metal dealers

s.037

Exemptions

s.041

Indoor sports entertainment licences.

Part 3A — CIVIC LICENSING STANDARDS OFFICERS

s.045

General functions of a civic licensing standards officer

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Civic licensing standards officers must supervise and support licence holders Local authority
Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.045

Civic licensing standards officers

Part III — Control of sex shops and sexual entertainment venues

s.045

Control of sex shops.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Local Authority must notify the public before regulating sex shops Local authority
s.045

Statements of policy in relation to sexual entertainment venues

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Local authorities must create and publish a sexual entertainment venue policy Local authority
Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.045

Licensing of sexual entertainment venues: interpretation

s.045

Licensing of sexual entertainment venues

s.045

Deemed grant of applications

s.045

Mandatory licence conditions

s.045

Standard licence conditions

Part IV — Offences, Powers of Constables, etc.

s.047

Urinating etc.

Fine up to £500
  • Urinating or defecating in a public place Any Person
s.050

Drunkenness.

Fine up to £500
  • Public drunkenness while in charge of a child or a firearm Any Person
s.051

Obscene material.

5 years imprisonment
  • Display, publish, or distribute obscene material Any Person
s.051

Extreme pornography

3 years imprisonment
  • Possession of extreme pornographic images Any Person
s.052

Possession of indecent photographs of children.

5 years imprisonment
  • Possession of indecent images of children Any Person
s.055

Touting.

Fine up to £500
  • Aggressive touting or failure to stop touting when asked Any Person
s.056

Fires.

Fine up to £1,000
  • Lighting a fire in a public place that causes danger or alarm Any Person
Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.051

Extreme pornography: excluded images

s.051

Extreme pornography: defences

s.052

Sections 52 and 52A: exceptions for photographs of 16 and 17 year olds

s.052

Section 52B: proof of exceptions

Part V — Public Processions

s.065

Offences and enforcement.

3 months imprisonment
  • Organising or participating in an illegal public procession Any Person
s.065

Guidance to local authorities

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Local authorities must follow Scottish Ministers' guidance on civic functions Local authority
Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part VI — Lost and Abandoned Property

s.067

Duty of finder.

Fine up to £200
  • Failure to report or hand over lost property found on premises Any Person
s.068

Functions of chief constable.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Chief Constable must manage and return lost property Statutory regulator
Browse 11 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part VII — Property in Possession of Persons Taken into Police Custody

Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part VIIA — Property In Unlawful Possession of Persons Taken Into Police Custody and Certain Other Property to which Part VII does not apply

s.086

Duty of care etc.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Chief constable must care for property and notify potential owners Statutory regulator
Browse 9 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.086

Application of Part VIIA to property.

s.086

Certification by prosecutor.

s.086

Claims by owner etc. prior to disposal.

s.086

Disposal of relevant property.

s.086

Retention of relevant property by Scottish Police Authority

s.086

Appeals.

s.086

Crown application of Part VIIA.

s.086

Further financial provision.

s.086

References in this Part to “chief constable”.

Part VIII — Buildings, etc.

s.105

Contents of notices.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Local authorities must include specific details in land-related notices Local authority
Browse 15 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part IX — Miscellaneous and General

s.118

Offences.

Fine up to £200
  • Breach of local authority land management rules or exclusion orders Any Person
Browse 17 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 4 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
s.sch002a

Retention and disposal of property seized under section 54(2A) of this Act

Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Local Authority

Local Authority (Environmental Health / Licensing / Planning)

Local councils enforce food safety (via Environmental Health Officers), issue alcohol licences, grant planning permission, and regulate certain business activities at local …

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