# What can I legally do in Scotland that is illegal in E&W (and vice versa)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861 "2014-12-10T17:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/21 "2014-12-11T00:24:02Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Another is that at 16 you can enter into a legal agreement (it’s 18 in E&W), although there’s an additional “would an adult have entered this contract” test involved if there is a dispute. IIRC the voting age in Scotland is 16 instead of the 18 like the rest of the UK, but that only applies to elections for the Scottish Parliament & local authorities. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/22 "2014-12-11T00:32:39Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The Outer Hebrides kinda dance to their own drum really. It’s an amazing part of the world, in a lot of ways. This wiki article is interesting: > > [Religion in the Outer Hebrides - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Outer_Hebrides) They will make you a human sacrifice to improve crop yields :0 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/23 "2014-12-11T00:40:07Z")
> [@Henryunderborn](#): > > In scotland when you pee, you bend over and lift up your kilts! in england and wales, you simply pour it out the spout! You don’t wear more than one kilt at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/24 "2014-12-11T00:46:35Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > IIRC the voting age in Scotland is 16 instead of the 18 like the rest of the UK, but that only applies to elections for the Scottish Parliament & local authorities. That was just for the recent referendum. There’s enough support in the Scottish parliament for that to be extended to any non-Westminster or European election though, and I expect it will be. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/25 "2014-12-11T01:05:34Z")
Produce liquor distilled from grain spirits that can legally be called Scotch. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/26 "2014-12-11T03:29:05Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I am no expert but you are correct. One major difference is that in England, either party can back out with no penalty right up to the point of contract exchange. In Scotland, a substantial deposit is paid at the time of the offer and that may well be forfeit if the buyer subsequently drops out. I suspect however that this isn’t a difference in law but a difference in practice. English real property conveyancing practice is clinically insane. Totally and utterly bonkers. Absolutely and irredeemably doolally. This isn’t because of law; with almost no change to the law, their practices could actually be quite sane. They just choose not to be. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/27 "2014-12-12T12:05:14Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I suspect however that this isn’t a difference in law but a difference in practice. > > English real property conveyancing practice is clinically insane. Totally and utterly bonkers. Absolutely and irredeemably doolally. This isn’t because of law; with almost no change to the law, their practices could actually be quite sane. They just choose not to be. From the point of view of the “professionals” involved it’s all quite sane because they get to skim off huge amounts of money for what amounts to running round in circles and wiping their asses on extraordinary numbers of documents. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/28 "2014-12-12T12:42:12Z")
Schooling starts a year later in Scotland. The quaifications system is also completely different to England, with leavers’ and higher certificates rather than GCSEs and A levels. That’s not a legal difference, exactly, but it is a big difference guided by the govt. There are also no university tuition fees if you’re resident in Scotland or anywhere else in the EU except England, Ireland and Wales, and it’s the norm to do a four year undergraduate Master’s degree rather than a three-year Honours one. There are no prescription charges in Scotland; neither are there in Wales, but there are in England and NI. There is a third option to guilty and not guilty available in Scotland: “not proven.” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/29 "2014-12-12T12:55:10Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Schooling starts a year later in Scotland. Kids are aged 4.5 to 5.5 when they start school. Is that really a year older than England? > [@](#): > > it’s the norm to do a four year undergraduate Master’s degree rather than a three-year Honours one. It’s a four year honours, usually. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/30 "2014-12-12T15:46:24Z")
Yep, and undergraduate masters degrees are usually 5 years in Scotland, not 4. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/31 "2014-12-12T15:55:53Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I’ve seen minors in pubs in England–I brought my own into several. These places all served at least some kind of food though, which is more common in England than in the US–at the very least you can get crisps in almost every pub–so maybe that makes them exempt? I think the prevalence of youngsters in pubs in England was more strict in the past than it is nowadays. It was one of these things petty Nats prided ourselves on, the more liberal attitude to youngsters in pubs in Scotland(I dont know if this sctrict attitude in England was accurate, or just our perception up here). Though this liberal attitude in Scotland was a bit of a myth. It was a very hit and miss affair on whether or not kids were allowed in Scottish pubs. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/32 "2014-12-12T15:59:41Z")
_“Schools offer places to all children from the Autumn term after their fourth birthday. Children born between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011 will usually start school in September 2015. Children are entitled to 38 weeks of school in their first (reception) year.”_ [http://www3.hants.gov.uk/education/admissions/ad-guidance/main-admissions-round/ad-startingschool.htm](http://www3.hants.gov.uk/education/admissions/ad-guidance/main-admissions-round/ad-startingschool.htm) _“In Scotland, the school year begins in mid-August. Any single school year group consists of children born between the beginning of March in one year and the end of February the following year. Children born between March and August start school in the August of, or following, their fifth birthday. Those born between September and February start school in the August prior to their fifth birthday. As such, children in Scotland usually start school between the ages of 4.5 and 5.5 years old.”_ > **[Growing up in Scotland: early experiences of primary school](https://www.gov.scot/publications/growing-up-scotland-early-experiences-primary-school/pages/4/)** > > This research report highlights the key findings from the Scottish Government's Growing up in Scotland early experiences study. Not that much difference really. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/33 "2014-12-12T16:16:03Z")
I gather from the paucity of examples above, that England and Scotland are much, much more similar than any two adjacent states in the USA, with respect to laws, ordinances and regulations relating to everyday life. Or, in fact, any two American cities or towns or counties. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/34 "2014-12-12T16:19:53Z")
I think you may well be correct. Historically, most legislation for England and Wales was enacted, more or less unchanged, for N. Ireland and Scotland. With more regional diversity these days, I suspect that the differences will become more pronounced in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/35 "2014-12-12T17:58:27Z")
> [@EdwinAmi](#): > > I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’m sure it involves leeks Or sheep ---
**Author:** ![Weirofhermiston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e274bd/32.png) [@Weirofhermiston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirofhermiston)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/36 "2014-12-12T18:05:12Z")
The 1967 Sexual Offences Act which decriminalised homosexual acts (under a limited set of circumstances) did not apply in Scotland. If you were gay north of the border you had to wait for The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 to be sure of not attracting the interest of the constabulary. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual\_Offences\_Act\_1967](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Offences_Act_1967) I have no cite but I think there were no prosecutions in Scotland during that thirteen year period. I suspect the constabulary weren’t that interested anyway. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/37 "2014-12-12T19:18:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That was just for the recent referendum. There’s enough support in the Scottish parliament for that to be extended to any non-Westminster or European election though, and I expect it will be. Not Proven ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/38 "2014-12-12T19:27:21Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Schooling starts a year later in Scotland. The quaifications system is also completely different to England, with leavers’ and higher certificates rather than GCSEs and A levels. That’s not a legal difference, exactly, but it is a big difference guided by the govt… How does this affect practical mobility? E.g. are there standard equivalencies that apply more or less across the board or do people argue constantly over how many A Levels equals a Higher Certificate and whatnot? Do people who move have to go back to school to re-qualify under the other system? Over here in the US, interstate recognition of academic credentials is pretty well standardized but recognition of international credentials is somewhat chaotic. Someone shows up from Outer Ruritania and claims that their _Mastery Certificate Zeevr’Gorn Elite in Vergubriall Sciences_ is equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree, but a potential employer claims that it’s actually like a GED plus one and a half years of university and that the real Ruritanian bachelor’s level qualification is the _Mastery Certificate Gapom Finale of Educational Excellence Vargist_, but only if it is in Lububrianism, Chasrok Studies, or Zephanoxlology. Other Vargist degrees are only equal to three years of a four-year US bachelor’s degree program. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/39 "2014-12-12T19:38:01Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Yes, I’m an American. I was in a “gastro-pub” in London where we had to sit at the bar for a meal due to lack of tables and my daughter was allowed to sit with us (she was just eating, not drinking, of course). I don’t think anyplace in the US allows that. In Wisconsin it is perfectly legal for minors to sit at the bar and even drink alcohol when accompanied by their parents. I would guess that there are few laws against minors sitting at a bar with their parents in the other states. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/40 "2014-12-12T19:38:05Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I think the prevalence of youngsters in pubs in England was more strict in the past than it is nowadays. It was one of these things petty Nats prided ourselves on, the more liberal attitude to youngsters in pubs in Scotland(I dont know if this sctrict attitude in England was accurate, or just our perception up here). Though this liberal attitude in Scotland was a bit of a myth. It was a very hit and miss affair on whether or not kids were allowed in Scottish pubs. It was literally decades ago when we were in the UK with our children. We blithely walked in the front door of a pub in England with our children and were promptly shooed out with alarm as if we were bringing in a live T-Rex. We were told that the place could lose its license for allowing a minor inside. Several days later we were in Scotland and this time we asked if we might bring our children in when we went to a pub. “Of \*course \* ye can,” we were told. “You’re in a \*civilized \*country now!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861.md?page=3)