Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 14 December 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were none.

There were no declarations made.

The Vice Chair requested an update on the proposed Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) for Leek Town Centre. It was explained that the consultation has now been completed. The Police required a further period of time to collate evidence and receive legal advice. A meeting would be arranged in April for the Committee to consider all of the facts.

The Committee received a report on Licensing Service enforcement actions for the period October 2017 to March 2018. The details were as follows:-

The primary focus of enforcement work to date had been on ensuring that the law in relation to all relevant licensing legislation and guidancewas properly observed. In considering the focus of this activity the Licensing service had had reference to:-

·         Those premises/vehicles against which complaints had been received;

·         Those premises which did not hold a licence but where intelligence suggested licensable activity was taking place.

A variety of breaches were identified in the course of these activities, but were addressed by a voluntary change of behaviour on the part of the licence holder or via specific action by the Licensing Service and partners. In none of the cases was further legal action or the application of criminal sanction necessary.

During this period no complaints had been received relating to smoking on licensed premises, specifically:-

·          As part of the Health Act 2006 and associated Regulations, premises had to comply with signage requirements.  All premises visited were now compliant with displaying the required signage;

·           No fixed penalty tickets in relation to offences of witnessed or reported smoking in premiseshad been issued.

Members reported that they had been made  aware of delays with the renewal of taxi  licenses and that drivers had experienced difficulties accessing information from the licensing team. In response to this, Alicia Patterson advised that she wasn’t aware of any delays, however, she would look into this after the meeting.

A new policy had recently been introduced which required drivers to give 2-3 weeks notice for the renewal of licenses.

RESOLVED – That the report be NOTED.

Alicia Patterson, Operations Manager, Environmental Services, introduced a presentation to Members which covered the following subject areas:-

·         Licensable Activities

·         Types of Authorisation

·         Objections

·         Licensing is open for business

·         Determination of Applications

·         Licencing Sub-Committee Hearings

·         Appeals

·         Review of Licenses

·         Expedited Reviews

·         Why Call a Review

·         Next Steps with an Expedited Review

·         Matters to Consider

·         Interim Measures

·         Full Review

·         Reviews and Hearings

·         Working, Supporting and Training Together

Discussion took place around the number of times premises were using Temporary Event Notices to extend opening hours and how this was managed by the Council. Members felt that such notices were being abused and requested that a letter be sent to the Government.

Other queries were raised such as the licensing requirements for home brewers on markets and for the administration of botox. The Committee was advised that the Council’s Food Safety Team would inspect home brewers and the owner would be required to apply for a Temporary Event Notice or Street Licence. The Council did not issue licences for the use of botox due to this being an unregulated activity. It was most likely for these types of premises to carry out other treatments which would require a licence and if any issues were reported then a Health and Safety Inspection would be carried out.

Licensing regulations were evolving and in some circumstances officers relied on best practice and guidance with a view to grant provisional licences. Any difficult requests could be brought to a Sub-Committee for member approval.

A member of the Committee commented how professional the Licensing staff were and was grateful for the excellent advice he had received over a number of years.

RESOLVED: -

1)    That the presentation be noted.

2)    For the Operations Manager, Environmental Services to draft a letter to the Government in relation to the over use of Temporary Event Notices.

3)    That the Powerpoint presentation be circulated to all members of the Committee.