Agenda and minutes

To approve the record of the meeting held on 18 September 2013.

The record of the meeting held on 18 September 2013 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Kearney, Kemp and Smith. 

The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

There were none. 

A member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the disclosable pecuniary interests register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.

A member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.

A member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.

Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.

In line with the training provided to members by the Monitoring Officer members will also need to consider bias and pre-determination in certain circumstances and whether they have a conflict of interest or should otherwise leave the room for Code reasons. 

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on changes to licensing legislation and to seek the approval of the Licensing and Safety Committee for officers to draft the following policies for consultation, consideration and ultimate adoption by the Council:

(1)   a convictions policy for Hackney Carriage, Private Hire Drivers and Operators; and

(2) a policy outlining the requirements of The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.

Discussion:

The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager introduced the report seeking approval for officers in consultation with the Chairman and opposition spokesperson to draft two policy documents in relation to a convictions policy for Hackney Carriage, Private Hire Drivers and Operators and a policy outlining the requirements of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to:

1)            Approve the proposal for officers to draft a policy document in consultation with the Chairman and opposition spokesperson as set out at 3 above in respect of a convictions policy for Hackney Carriage, Private Hire Drivers and Operators; and

2)          Approve the proposal for officers to draft a policy document in consultation with the Chairman and opposition spokesperson as set out at 4 above in respect of a policy outlining the requirements of The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.

3)         Instruct officers to consult appropriately and include internal consultation and report back to this Committee with a final draft version for approval.