Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE LICENSING MANAGER

To give the Licensing and Appeals Committee a summary of the work undertaken by the licensing service over the previous twelve months, an update on existing projects and an overview of future proposals.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the report entitled Licensing Service Annual Report be noted;

(2)       That the Licensing Manager be requested to circulate the risk rating scheme for inspections to all Members of the Licensing and Appeals Committee prior to implementation.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: Section 8.2.3 of the Council Constitution requires the Full Committee to meet at least once per year and section 8.2.3 (d) requires the Committee ‘to receive an annual report on licensing activities including performance information’.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 22 seconds

The Licensing Manager presented the report entitled Licensing Service Annual Report together with the following appendix:

·                Appendix A - Annual Licensing Report.

The Licensing Manager drew attention to the following:

·                 That the Licensing Team would be increasing;

·                 Although only half of the proposed inspections were undertaken, they were on target as the other inspections were not required;

·                 A new inspection regime would be introduced;

·                 The number of licensing applications had increased;

·                 A significant amount of work was responding to phone calls;

·                 Taxi complaints had increased, although this was mainly due to education of the public and encouraging people to report problems;

·                 Income generating activities included taxi compliance tests, knowledge and topographical tests and safeguarding awareness courses;

·                 The team had never lost a Licensing appeal;

·                 Legislation prevented the Council from making a profit on licensing fees;

·                Although fees sometimes did not cover the costs involved in dealing with an event, they were set by Government and could not be amended;

·                New gambling and scrap metal policies were in place;

·                The Hackney Carriage and Statement of Licensing policies  would be reviewed;

·                A new Annual Licensing Policy would be introduced this year;

·                They were encouraging the public to self help by using the active licencing register on line and the use of on line licensing applications;

The following Members asked questions and entered into the debate:

·                 Councillor Richard Thake;

·                 Councillor Mike Rice;

·                 Councillor Jim McNally;

·                 Councillor Sam North.

In response to questions the Licensing Manager advised that:

·                 Some Council’s subsidised licensing fees and some did not carry out all of the statutory functions;

·                 NHDC now subsidised green taxi licence fees;

·                 Passenger vehicles of 9 passengers or more were not licensed through the Council;

·                 They were looking at producing trade newsletters;

·                 Consideration was being given to the introduction of risk rating of inspections;

·                 That the officer giving any pre-application advice would not be involved in the decision.

Members suggested:

·            Workshops on the Licensing Act could be provided as income generating events;

·            That the risk rating scheme regarding inspections be circulated to Members of this Committee before implementation.

Members were extremely pleased at the work being undertaken to inform taxi drivers of safeguarding issues.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the report entitled Licensing Service Annual Report be noted;

(2)       That the Licensing Manager be requested to circulate the risk rating scheme for inspections to all Members of the Licensing and Appeals Committee prior to implementation.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: Section 8.2.3 of the Council Constitution requires the Full Committee to meet at least once per year and section 8.2.3 (d) requires the Committee ‘to receive an annual report on licensing activities including performance information’.