Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2023 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30^th October 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any disclosures of interest from Councillors in accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct for Members.

There were none.

To consider and recommend the adoption, by Council, of the Gambling Act Policy 2022-2025.

The Committee considered the Gambling Act Policy 2022-2025 for recommendation to Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson, seconded by Councillor Rybinski and resolved that the public and press be excluded while the Committee received advice from the Planning and Litigation Lawyer, in accordance with paragraph 5 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) because it was likely to disclose information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

The Committee returned to open session at 19:11.

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the Gambling Act Policy 2022-2025 to the Committee. Consultation on the policy had been undertaken. Five responses had been received and taken into consideration.

The Committee acknowledged that taking into account the consultation responses, they were now in a position to recommend the Gambling Act Policy 2022-2025 to Council for adoption.

The Committee resolved to recommend the adoption of the Gambling Act Policy 2022-2025 by full Council.

To consider and recommend the adoption, by Council, of the revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2024-2029.

The Committee considered the Statement of Licensing Policy 2024-2029.

The Principal Licensing Officer advised that the Statement of Licensing Policy had gone out to consultation earlier in the year and responses had been received and taken into account. A minor amendment was suggested to 16.23 of the Licensing Policy so that it read “Where premises wish to place tables and chairs on the public highway adjacent to their premises, the person responsible for the premises, must obtain a pavement licence. Further information is available on our website.”

The Committee noted that the Licensing Policy referred to the prospect of adopting a cumulative impact policy and queried if this could be examined in future. The Committee were advised that it would be kept under review, but the Council would require substantive evidence that policies related to cumulative impact were required, and many councils had removed cumulative impact policies and late night levies.

The Committee resolved to recommend the revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2024-2029 to full Council for adoption with the amended wording at 16.23.

To consider the proposed licensing fees and charges as set out in Appendix B of the report.

The Committee considered a report on the review of fees and charges for the Licensing of Hackney Carriages, Private Hire, and Private Hire Operators for consultation and advertising requirements. The Principal Licensing Officer advised that a 5% increase was proposed to cover the cost of the service.

The Committee acknowledged that a review had been undertaken in the past year and that some fees and risen but others had fallen in that review. The Committee noted that the timetable set out in point 11 of the report required some amendment to reflect the actual date of the meeting and new newspaper publishing schedules. The new dates would not have an impact on the effective date of 1^st April 2024.

The Committee queried if there would be an examination of the taxi policy in future to take account the cost of driving a vehicle in line with the taxi policy. The Principal Licensing Officer acknowledged the taxi policy required review, particularly in relation to window tinting, but this would form part of a suite of policies to be reviewed in going forward.

The Committee resolved to approve the proposed licensing fees an charges set out at Appendix B for consultation purposes and statutory advertising requirements.

Meeting ended at 19:29