Agenda item

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 in other areas. A video funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) was available to watch online.

·       The Shared Internal Audit Service (SIAS) had performed an internal audit on Houses of Multiple Occupants (HMOs). They made 11 recommendations, 9 of which have been implemented to establish a more robust process.

 

The following Members asked questions:

 

·       Councillor Tim Johnson

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Ian Albert

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·       Councillor Keith Hoskins

·       Councillor Sean Prendergast

 

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

 

·       It would be beneficial to remind the new government that a review of the Licensing Fees was overdue.

·       Previously the former Leader of Council wrote to local MPs on this subject annually.

·       The Committee could pass a resolution requesting that the Leader of Council or the Chair of this Committee writes to the Local MPs on this matter.

·       The only enforcement powers that the Council had for scrap metal sites related to areas of administration and record keeping. The Environment Agency had powers of enforcement for noise nuisances and for overspills.

·       Inspections for gambling sites were required every two years, high priority sites, pending staff availability were inspected more frequently.

·       Additional scrap metal licensing details could be added to future Annual Reports.

·       A Senior Licensing Officer was implementing the recommendation from the recent HMOs audit, they would also be working closely with the Revenue and Benefits Team as well as specialist rental agencies.

·       The Licensing Team do not have ‘rights of entry’ at suspected HMOs and generally on a first visit advice was offered.

·       It was likely that there were HMOs operating without licenses, this would be investigated and an increase in the number of new licences was expected in the Annual Report 2024/25.

·       There was a prescribed advertising procedure for big events, this meant advertising the event, on site, in local newspapers and on the public register. This was not always effective.

·       If there were no objections to an event, the event request would be granted.

·       The Licensing Team were now consulting with ward Members for advice and recommendations for big events. This could be expanded to nearby wards for larger events.

·       The Safety Advisory Group (SAG) reviewed large events and often gave advice to license holders. The Group consisted of professionals and unfortunately Members were unable to attend. Feedback from SAG meetings could be sent to Members to alleviate any resident queries.

·       Events applications were available to view on the Public Register on the North Herts Council website.

·       Legislation required events to be advertise in local papers.

·       Surrounding ward notification of large events would be informally actioned and could be added to the Licensing Policy when it was reviewed in the new year.

·       The SAG team had received training for their roles. Members and members of the public were not able to attend SAG meetings however, Case Officers were able to take Members comments to SAG meetings.

·       An article could be published annually in Outlook to inform members of the public of the Public Register.

·       The Taxi Driver and Private Hire Forum meet on a regular basis.

·       Funding had been received for the Women and Girls Safety Charter which was expected to go live in December. An Officer would be allocated to this project and a report would be actioned for the PCC.

·       The team had inherited a backlog of HMOs work, every registered HMOs had been inspected however, some HMOs required specialised Environment Health inspections.

·       HMOs require an inspection from the Licensing Team and the Fire Service.

·       The remaining two SIAS recommendations were not yet due to be implemented.

·       The Team were experiencing difficulties with the rogue landlord database.

·       The majority of unlicensed HMOs had been identified from parking complaints, the team however, do not have any power to restrict or deal with parking complaints.

·       The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee would be informed when the SIAS recommendations had been completed.

·       Work could be commenced for a joint operation with the police and fire services to inspect scrap metal sites. This would be investigated offline.

·       Battery storage had been identified as a cause of the recent scrap metal site fires.

·       An article could be published in the local media regarding HMOs and what to do if you, operate one or suspect one.

·       There were currently between 35 and 40 licensed HMOs in the District.

·       There was a meeting on the 25 October 2024 regarding the recent scrap metal fires which the Licensing and Community Safety Manager would attend if available.

·       Licensing Sub Committee hearings were resource intensive and tended to have a higher level of Officer attendance, including some shared service Officers.

·       It was not always practical for objectors to attend an in person hearing.

·       In person hearings could be considered in special circumstances.

·       Attendance at Licensing Sub Committee hearings could be discussed in more detail when the Licensing Act Policy was considered in the New Year.

 

Councillor Tim Johnson proposed and Councillor Sean Prendergast seconded and, following a vote, it was:

 

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’.

 

N.B. Following the conclusion of this item, there was a break in proceedings and the meeting reconvened at 21:14.