Venue: Virtual Meeting
Contact: Mr. Pat Trafford, Democratic Services. (01538) 395551
Webcast: View the webcast
No. | Item |
---|---|
Minutes of the Meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 27 November 2021 Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 27 November 2020 be APPROVED as a correct record and signed by the Chair. |
|
Urgent items of business, if any. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no urgent items of business. |
|
Declarations of interest, if any. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no declarations of interest made. |
|
Statements of Licensing Policy Additional documents: Minutes: Alicia Patterson – Head of Environmental Health – confirmed that all Licensing Authorities were required to publish a Licensing Policy in respect of their activities relating to the licensing of premises for the sale of alcohol, setting out the measures by which applications for alcohol licences would be considered.
The existing Licensing Policy was published in 2016. It was also a requirement that all Licensing Authorities reviewed their Licensing Policy every 5 years. The policy was due for renewal and an updated draft policy had been produced following internal and external consultation which ran from 1 December 2020 to 1 January 2021. The revised Licensing Policy 2021 – 26 was appended to the report.
A member query regarding a racial incident which took place in a Leek Public House in July 2020, together with a perceived rise in such instances, led to ask how the policy would deal with such incidents. Alicia confirmed that the policy allowed for each case to be looked at on an individual basis.
RESOLVED – That the Committee APPROVE the Council’s Licensing Policy 2021 – 26. This was confirmed by a unanimous named vote. |
|
Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards 2020 Additional documents: Minutes: The Department for Transport (DfT) had issued Statutory Standards for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles in July 2020. The focus was on protecting children and vulnerable adults, but all passengers would benefit from the recommendations in the report.
The existing policy was broadly compliant with the DfT requirements but there were a small number of specific amendments required and these were clarified to members of the committee.
Members raised queries as follows (Responses in brackets):-
· The report referred to “No Climate Change implications”. Could there be consideration given to the granting of longer licences for ‘greener’ vehicles? (The ‘green’ aspect was under review, with drivers advised against unnecessary idling. The electric vehicle infrastructure (charging points) was being looked at. There had to be a mileage limit and an age limit for all vehicles.) · Were there any instances of blind passengers and / or their guide dogs being refused access? (The required NVQ qualification covers this area. There had been no instances but if there were, each would be treated on a case-by-case basis and a hard line taken.) · With regard to the ‘DBS’ check, do we check the driver’s ordinary driving licence? (All checks are carried out independently on the council’s behalf by ‘Personnel Checks’ through the Post Office. No photocopied documents were accepted in the process.) · There had been recent instances of Taxi drivers transporting individuals to and from Public House car parks where drug dealing was taking place. Could there be any control from a licensing point of view? (Whilst CCTV and dash cams were not mandatory, intelligence could be gathered where these were in place. The policy was constantly under review and any case reported would be dealt with individually. If a change to the policy was required, this would be reported to a later meeting of this committee.)
RESOLVED – That the Committee NOTED the report and APPROVED the recommendations in relation to the enforcement of the Council’s Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2016 and for the Policy to be amended accordingly. |
|
Chair/Members' Questions/Issues. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no questions or issues raised. |
|
Date of Next Meeting - Friday 19 March 2021 - 10am Additional documents: |