The Business - 30/08/2009

Presented by Jamie McIvor (standing in for Graham Stewart). Ahead of the biggest shake-up to Scotland's licensing laws for 30 years, we find out how businesses are coping with the changes. The 2005 Licensing Scotland Act, which comes into effect on Tuesday, requires that businesses and some staff have special licences to sell alcohol and that mandatory staff training is carried out. In addition there will be significant changes to the hours during which retailers can legally sell alcohol. But many companies claim the implementation process is "confusing" and there are fears over compliance costs. Discussing their concerns are Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, and Colin Borland of the Federation of Small Businesses. We also hear from Karen Brown of Dumfries-based wine and spirits merchant TB Watson. 25 years since Microsoft's presentation software, PowerPoint, first appeared in boardrooms across the land, David Henderson reports on whether businesses are really making the most of the technology. And BBC Scotland's business editor Douglas Fraser asks Cairn Energy's chief executive, Sir Bill Gammell, about his successes over the past 21 years and the huge potential which lies behind the Edinburgh-based company's oil exploration work in Greenland.