Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Carr.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 14 December 2021.

The record of the meeting held on 14 December 2021 was agreed by the Committee and signed by the Chairman.

 There were none.

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The Licensing Act 2003 requires that the Council publish a ‘Statement of Licensing Policy’ that sets out the policies the Council will generally apply to promote the licensing objectives when making decisions on applications made under the Act.

The Council’s current Policy Statement will lapse on 30 April 2023. This report provides Members with information and guidance on an updated Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 which requires approval for public consultation.

Discussion:

The Committee considered a report which provided details of an updated Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003, for which approval was sought for public consultation.

The Senior Licensing Officer referred to the objectives of the current version of the Statement of Licensing Policy (agreed in 2018) which had led to an improvement in the standard of applications reducing pressure on the Licensing Authority and also a reduction in the number of Licensing Hearing Panels being held.

The Senior Licensing Officer explained the proposed key changes to the Policy, as set out in paragraph 2.8 of the report. In particular, He advised the Committee that it was proposed to remove the Cumulative Impact Policy from the Statement of Licensing Policy as they were subject to different review periods (3 years and 5 years respectively). Instead, the Cumulative Impact Policy would become a Policy in its own right. He advised that the draft Policy would deal with internet/mail order alcohol sales and explained the proposed changes to Temporary Event Notices (TENs). He also advised the Committee that it was now proposed to remove appendices 4, 5 and 6 be removed from the Policy and place them online instead.

Members expressed concern on a number of matters including the proposed removal of appendices 4, 5 and 6 which had not been reflected in the covering report, the lack of a schedule of proposed changes to the draft Policy, the lack of working weblinks within the draft Policy and the inclusion of named officer email addresses as opposed to generic email addresses within the draft Policy. As such, Members were concerned as to the impact this may have on the quality and effectiveness of consultation as well as the impact on the Council itself, should the draft Policy be agreed for consultation at this stage.

During the discussion, the Prosecutions, Licensing and Litigation Lawyer advised the Committee that the current Policy would lapse on 30 April 2023, and that a 6-week consultation process was required. The Senior Licensing Officer advised the Committee that he would need 2-3 weeks to make the proposed changes highlighted by Members.

Members noted that should the Committee wish to delay the commencement of consultation on the draft Policy, that it should not take place during the Christmas period. The Committee also noted that it would be preferable to ensure that draft Policy should still be submitted to Full Council on 23 February 2022 for final consideration and approval.

Decision:

The Committee agreed that the draft Policy should be redrafted as necessary to take account of the concerns expressed during the meeting, that a schedule of changes be produced and be resubmitted to a special meeting of this Committee, prior to it being approved for consultation.