Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Amy Allen, Ruth Brown, Steven Patmore and Stewart Willoughby.

Audio recording – 59 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Amy Allen, Ruth Brown, Steven Patmore and Stewart Willoughby.

Councillors Lisa Nash and David Barnard were absent.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 30 October 2023.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 30 October 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio recording – 1 minute 13 seconds

Councillor Alistair Willoughby, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 30 October 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect to any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or a Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item.

Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair advised for purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the constitution did apply to this meeting and Members were required to be present for the entirety of an Item to vote.

(4)   The Chair reminded the Committee to complete the IRP survey by Thursday 17 October 2024.

(5)   The Chair advised of a change in the order of the agenda. Agenda Item 7 followed by Item 8 would be considered after Agenda Item 5.

Audio recording – 1 minute 59 seconds

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair advised for purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the constitution did apply to this meeting and Members were required to be present for the entirety of an Item to vote.

(4)   The Chair reminded the Committee to complete the IRP survey by Thursday 17 October 2024.

(5)   The Chair advised of a change in the order of the agenda. Agenda Item 7 followed by Agenda Item 8 would be considered after Agenda Item 5.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency. The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 50 seconds

There was no other business notified.

To receive petitions, comments, and questions from the public.

There was no public participation.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 53 seconds

There was no public participation.

REPORT OF THE LICENSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY MANAGER

To provide the committee with a summary of performance statistics, updates on project work, service improvements, and future challenges.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

(1)   Reviewed the Annual Report and commented on its content.

(2)   Noted the Annual Report.

(3)   Requested that the Chair of the Licensing and Regulation Committee urgently writes to the Government to request that they review the Licensing Act fees set 19 years ago in 2005, to raise the fees and bring these in line with the current fiscal pressures in 2024.

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

Audio Recording – 13 minutes 33 seconds

N.B. Councillor Keith Hoskins entered the Chamber at 19:37.

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented the report entitled ‘Annual Licensing Report 2023-2024 Part 1’ and highlighted that:

·       There had been a department restructure with a Senior Licensing Officer being promoted to Team Leader. The Team Leader had worked for North Herts Council for the last five years and the promotion reflected the opportunities that were available to employees.

·       The Licensing team sat alongside the Community Safety Team, and it was felt that the restructure would aid the management of the two areas.

·       There had been an increase of inspections throughout the year. Due to the pandemic and staffing level this had previously been lower however, going forward this would be sustained. The areas deemed the highest risk and those premises that had breached conditions had all been inspected.

·       The number of applications and current licenses was at its highest level for five years however, more licenses had led to more customer queries.

·       It was encouraging that the level of new applications had improved and outweighed those of businesses lost.

·       New taxi licenses required one appointment instead of three, which had improved engagement with customers.

·       The Committee previously passed a resolution to not subsidise fees, the department continued to abide by that resolution.

·       Most fees were set locally, and a full costing exercise was in progress for 2025/26.

·       The Licensing Act fees were set by the Government and had not been increased since 2005. The cost of administering these licenses was not adequately covered by the fee.

·       The department had used mediation to resolve possible Sub Committee disputes prior to any hearing.

·       Any decisions made by the Licensing Sub Committee had the right to appeal at a Magistrates Court, no recent decisions had been subject to appeal.

·       Recent case law had confirmed that virtual hearings were lawful, and this was the case for Licensing Sub Committees.

·       There had been fewer enforcements in 2023/24 however, there had been a significant animal prosecution that was still ongoing. The owner received a conviction and had been banned from keeping animals, the ban was delayed until the 14 November 2024 to allow the owner time to rehome the animals, as the alternative would be to euthanize endangered species.

·       There had been three decisions made regarding the fit and proper person criteria for taxi or private hire driver licences.

·       Three policies had been amended and would be presented to the Committee later in the meeting.

·       It was anticipated that a further three policies would need to be reviewed and considered by the Committee before the end of the financial year.

·       There was a successful closed membership Taxi Forum Facebook page that was a safe space to ask questions and share responses. This had led to fewer customer queries and was being considered for other services.

·       The Women and Girls Safety Charter was due to be launched in December 2024 through Hitchin Pubwatch, it would then be released  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio Recording – 2 minutes 59 seconds

Councillor Alistair Willoughby, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

REPORT OF THE LICENSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY MANAGER

To provide the Committee with a summary of licensing activity during the reporting year.

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented Appendix C to the report entitled ‘Annual Licensing Report 2023/24’.

N.B. This item was considered in restricted session and therefore no recording is available.

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented Appendix C to the report entitled ‘Annual Licensing Report 2023/24’ and highlighted that:

·       A decision was required regarding all Taxi Drivers to ensure that they were fit and proper to fulfil their role according to Council Policy.

·       The Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health and the Chair of the Licensing Committee were often consulted on these decisions.

·       The appendix provided details of Decisions Notices where a driver was deemed not fit and proper which had been requested by the Committee at the previous meeting.

·       The decisions were not made easily and considered relevant policy sections and case law. The applicant had a right of appeal.

In response to questions from Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, the Licensing and Community Safety Manager advised that the applicant in the first decision came across on paper as challenging however, it was apparent from a face to face meeting that their people skills were affected by other issues and that they could not accept that their actions were deemed violent. The applicant was trying to change and the outcome could be reevaluated in the future.

Councillor Bryony May stated that the decisions were useful and had a clear layout stating the points in the decision process.

Councillor Alistair Willoughby stated that they had discussed the first applicant with the Licensing and Community Safety Manager and although this was a difficult decision, it was felt that they needed a little more time.

REPORT OF THE LICENSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY MANAGER

The purpose of this report is for the Licensing and Regulation Committee to consider the draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Principles prepared by officers, and the public consultation responses, and then recommend the adoption of a final Statement of Licensing Principles to Full Council.

RESOLVED: That the Licensing and Regulation Committee considered the consultation responses and recommended the adoption of the policy appended at Appendix A to Full Council.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: That Council adopts the Statement of Gambling Principles 2025-2028 policy.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION:

(1)   Licensing authorities are required to publish a policy every three years by virtue of section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 (“the Act”).

(2)   A new policy must be published by 3 January 2025 to comply with this statutory requirement.

(3)   The policy builds on the effectiveness of the existing policy with minor amendments to reflect changes in legislation, statutory guidance, consultation responses and an updated local area profile.

Audio Recording – 1 hour 31 minutes 27 seconds

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented the report entitled ‘Statement of Gambling Principles 2025-2028’ and highlighted that:

·       This was a statutory policy which required a review every three years and adopting by Council.

·       Three representations were received from the public consultation, this was higher than in previous years.

·       The Gambling venues in the district were well managed and operated.

·       There was an updated local area profile in the report and this would ensure that any new gambling venues would not be proposed in areas of high deprivation.

·       There had been a Safeguarding update to include, the White Ribbon Campaign, Violence against Woman and Girls Charter and child sexual exploitation.

·       The report covered the required responses to the public consultation representations and it was noted that public health roles were administrated by Hertfordshire County Council.

Councillor Tim Johnson proposed and Councillor Nigel Mason seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Licensing and Regulation Committee considered the consultation responses and recommended the adoption of the policy appended at Appendix A to Full Council.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: That Council adopts the Statement of Gambling Principles 2025-2028 policy.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION:

(1)   Licensing authorities are required to publish a policy every three years by virtue of section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 (“the Act”).

(2)   A new policy must be published by 3 January 2025 to comply with this statutory requirement.

(3)   The policy builds on the effectiveness of the existing policy with minor amendments to reflect changes in legislation, statutory guidance, consultation responses and an updated local area profile.

REPORT OF THE LICENSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY MANAGER

The purpose of this report is to adopt a licensing policy for pavement licences, following the previous temporary licensing arrangements being permanently enacted into legislation.

RESOLVED: That the Committee adopted the Pavement Licensing Policy attached as Appendix A.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

(1)   The previous temporary licensing arrangements worked well therefore no further amendments are required, other than some clarification of previous condition wording.

(2)   The adoption of a policy ensures that applicants, licence holders, and the public have a clear understanding of the licensing process and objectives; it also ensures a consistent and transparent approach.

Audio Recording – 1 hour 35 minutes 3 seconds

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented the report entitled ‘Pavement Licensing Policy’ and highlighted that:

·       This was a new policy and related to the consumption of food and drink on tables and chairs adjacent to a venue.

·       Previously this had been covered by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) under the Highways Act however, since the Covid Pandemic temporary licenses had been made available.

·       The Pavement Licenses under the Highways Act cost £1000 and took 3 months to process. The yearly temporary licenses cost £100 and were processed in 10 working days.

·       The temporary licenses were extended on a yearly basis and had now become permeant legislation

·       Pavement Licenses were still available from Hertfordshire County Council.

·       The proposed Pavement License would have a flat fee and last for two years.

·       Under the new legislation the Council now had enforcement powers. Officers would be able to seize and store tables and chairs should the need arise.

·       The policy formalised a temporary condition and included enforcement powers within an open and transparent policy.

·       Pavement Licenses would be reviewed by the Licensing Team Leader, and applicants would have a right of appeal from the Licensing and Community Safety Manager.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Ian Albert

·       Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·       Councillor Keith Hoskins

·       Councillor Tim Johnson

In response to questions the Licensing and Community Safety Manager advised that:

·       There had been a typological error and Royston Town would be added to paragraph 1.2.1.(1) of the policy.

·       The Service Director - Housing and Environmental Health and the Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health would shortly confirm the exact fee. The fee would cover the reasonable costs for processing the application and enforcement.

·       The Pavement Licenses available from Hertfordshire County Council under the Highways Act covered shared areas whereas this policy covered area adjacent to the application venue.

·       The current temporary licenses were held for one year, on their expiry applicants would need to apply for the new two year license. Similarly, those with Pavement Licences from HCC could apply for either the new license or to extend their license.

·       Officers would contact premises prior to their expiry date to inform them of the new process.

·       Should Officers notice an unlicenced premises whilst out on general duties, initially they would politely remind the owner to apply for a license.

·       The current temporary licenses cost £100 the new license was expected to cost about £265 for a two year period.

·       There were likely to be only limited confiscations.

·       This was a set license fee for any volume of tables and chairs.

·       Any A-boards on their own outside of premises were the remit of Hertfordshire County Council, an A-Board with tables and chairs was covered under this policy.

·       A storage fee would be chargeable for confiscated items as well as for Officer hours, this was likely to vary for each case.

·       The act did not define the word adjacent however, the interpretation for the purpose  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

REPORT OF THE LICENSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY MANAGER

The purpose of this report is to adopt a street trading policy incorporating minor amendments to the existing policy.

RESOLVED: That the Committee adopted the Street Trading Licensing Policy attached as Appendix A.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

(1)   The current policy is working well however some minor amendments are needed to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

(2)   The adoption of a policy ensures that applicants, licence holders, and the public have a clear understanding of the licensing process and objectives; it also ensures a consistent and transparent approach.

Audio Recording – 2 hours 8 seconds

The Licensing and Community Safety Manager presented the report entitled ‘Street Trading Policy’ and highlighted that:

·       There were minimal changes to this policy.

·       The policy allowed the Licensing and Community Safety Manager and the Executive Member for Housing and Environment Health to make minor changes.

·       Applications had previously been made in areas known for Anti-Social Behaviour and the amendments to the policy reflected that Street Trading was not desirable in these locations.

·       The amendments also introduced a right of appeal for applicants.

·       The policy clarified the enforcements available, confiscation was not an option however, there was a prosecution avenue that could be taken. Mainly breeches of the policy would lead to the revoking of the license.

In response to a question from Councillor Alistair Willoughby, the Licensing and Community Safety Manager advised that there were three types of specified areas, Prohibited Streets, Consent Streets and License Streets. A licence was required for Consent Streets and License Streets. The License Streets, license was more formal and involved more administration.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis proposed and Councillor Nigel Mason seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee adopted the Street Trading Licensing Policy attached as Appendix A.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

(1)   The current policy is working well however some minor amendments are needed to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

(2)   The adoption of a policy ensures that applicants, licence holders, and the public have a clear understanding of the licensing process and objectives; it also ensures a consistent and transparent approach.