Pubs and restaurants can play background music from Saturday

Pubs and restaurants across Scotland will be able to play background music from this weekend.

New guidance has been released from the Scottish Government, which also allows bars to turn on television commentary for sporting events.

Live music and karaoke is still banned.

The new rules state : "The purpose of this guidance is to prevent raised voices and or people leaning-in to be heard as a consequence of interference from background sound in hospitality premises."

"It also sets out a risk assessment and practical advice appropriate to all hospitality settings. Following this guidance will reduce the need for any incidences of compliance issues or the need for dispute resolution.

"A qualitative approach should be adopted i.e. based on observation of what volume levels are safe for each premises, rather than a quantitative approach i.e. a blanket decibel ceiling.

"This takes account of the varied environmental conditions in different premises. As every hospitality premises is different a set limit would not produce a consistent result across all premises.

"This method has been prepared to avoid any requirement for specialist measurement equipment. Following the level setting exercise described below, hospitality venue operators should, if requested, be able to clearly demonstrate to regulatory authorities the method followed and measures in place."

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