| 446 | RECORD OF THE MEETING |
| | | The record of the meeting held on 21 October 2004 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct. |
|
| 447 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE |
| | | Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bowler and Buckwell. |
|
| 448 | LICENSING ACT 2003 - ESTABLISHMENT OF LICENSING HEARING PANELS AND APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS |
| | Discussion: |
| | | At the beginning of the meeting members agreed that they would support the proposal to waive political balance thereby allowing the following discussion.
|
| The Senior Advocacy and Enforcement Lawyer introduced the report and circulated a revised set of recommendations for the committee's consideration, together with a draft panel schedule which replaced Appendix A of the report. The schedule gave details of the proposed membership based on members' availability but required receipt of further information before it could be finalised.
|
| The committee discussed the legal position with regard to substitutes for each Licensing Hearing Panel, the requirement for a fourth member for each panel meeting and the possibility of delivering chairing skills training for members of the committee. |
|
| | > Establishment of Licensing Hearing Panels (pdf file 19.9kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The committee agreed:
|
| | (a) | to approve the appointment of Licensing Hearing Panels comprising three members which would, from 7 February 2005, consider all licensing matters under the Licensing Act 2003;
|
| | (b) | that political balance was waived for the formation of each Licensing Hearing Panel;
|
| | (c) | the appointment of members to the Licensing Hearing Panels as set out in the revised Appendix A;
|
| | (d) | that a fourth member is allocated for each Licensing Hearing Panel to act as an emergency substitute, once provision has been made for this in the constitution's council rules;
|
| | (e) | that the proper officer or her nominee exercises her delegation to appoint to the vacancies shown on the revised Appendix A (including the fourth member) based on further member availability in consultation with the Chairman and spokespersons of the committee;
|
| | (f) | to recommend to council that it approves amendments to the constitution's council rules in respect of substitution arrangements for Licensing Hearing Panels;
|
| | (g) | to note the requirement for members of the committee to attend suitable licensing training before being able to sit on the Licensing Sub-committee and/or a Licensing Hearing Panel;
|
| | (h) | that committee members receive additional training to assist them in serving as Chairman on Licensing Hearing Panels;
|
| | (i) | to review the above arrangements no later than three months after the first operative day (7 February 2005) and to monitor the attendance of members at Licensing Hearing Panels. |
|
| 449 | LICENSING ACT 2003 - LICENSING ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Licensing Manager presented the proposed enforcement strategy, produced in conjunction with the council's statement of licensing policy.
|
| Members requested further information about the steps taken to contact owners of hot food takeaway premises, as these had not been subject to licensing matters before. Officers confirmed that they had written to all hot food takeaway premises setting out the relevant information about the forthcoming licensing requirements. Each letter contained a tear-off reply slip and those premises that did not respond would be visited by officers.
|
| The committee discussed its concerns about environmental health officers' presentations with regard to noise nuisance issues and requested that a noise recording meter was used and the readings were presented to members at future licensing meetings. |
|
| | > Licensing Enforcement Strategy (pdf file 25.9kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The committee endorsed the proposed enforcement strategy as detailed at Appendix A to the report, provided that:
|
| | (a) | officers discuss the noise nuisance issues raised by members with the environmental health team;
|
| | (b) | the enforcement visits/activity matrix detailed in the proposed enforcement strategy was amended to show that hot food takeaways were given a priority rating of four (4);
|
| | (c) | the enforcement strategy is reconsidered by the committee when all consultation has been completed. |
|
| 450 | LICENSING ACT 2003 - PROCEDURE FOR HEARING OF APPLICATIONS |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Senior Advocacy and Enforcement Lawyer introduced the proposed procedure for hearing licensing applications which followed the system currently used in a magistrates' court. The committee was also informed that it was empowered to determine any procedure it chose.
|
| Members discussed various options and styles for licensing hearings and requested that a series of "mock hearings" should be organised before the Licensing Hearing Panels commenced.
|
| The committee also requested that officers endeavour to arrange for as many of the Licening Hearing Panels as possible to be held in the council's Chamber at the Municipal Buildings. |
|
| | > Procedure for hearings (pdf file 14.2kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The committee agreed:
|
| | (a) | that applications may be determined by either written representation or by a full hearing, as deemed appropriate by the Licensing Manager in accordance with the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003;
|
| | (b) | that the procedure to be used at a Licensing Hearing Panel meeting would be as set out at Appendix A, with the second point 5 renumbered as 5a, the second paragraph of point 7 renumbered as 8 and the original point 8 renumbered as 8a;
|
| | (c) | that the format for reports at Licensing Hearing Panels would be as set out at Appendix B. |
|