Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillor Worthington declared an Other Interest in Item 5 (Charitable Collection Policy Draft and Consultation) – Member of the Royal British Legion.

The Committee considered a report that set out an approach for consultation on the proposed Charitable Collections Policy.

It was a requirement that licensing authorities regularly review and update their policies to reflect changes in legislation, guidance and local circumstances. As part of this duty it was considered appropriate for the Council to consult on a Charitable Collections Policy as proposed in this report.

There had been an increase nationally in the number of bogus House to House collectors in the last few years and as such it was vital that licences are issued to legitimate applicants.  This would give the public confidence that if the collection is licensed an adequate proportion of their donations were being given to the appropriate charity.  It was confirmed that exceptions to this policy may be made for collections such as the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the new Policy for consultation and the consultation timetable outlined in the report at 7.9 be approved.

2.     That following the consultation period, the proposed policy (together with a summary of the key consultation comments) be considered further by the committee at its next meeting with a view to recommending the policy to Full Council for formal adoption.

The report updated members in relation to the enforcement activity undertaken within the Licensing Section.  In the period October 2022 to January 2023 the Licensing service has engaged in a number of enforcement actions. These activities have involved reactive responses to complaints and intelligence received from the public and partner agencies as well as proactive compliance checks.

In response to issues raised related to mobile food takeaways it was confirmed that the Council’s Street Trading Policy could be reviewed and strengthened (this applied to Derby Street, Leek only at present).

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.