Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Councillors Mark Howell and Heather Williams each declared non-pecuniary interest as the holders of a personal alcohol licence.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2018.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2018, were agreed as a correct record. In relation to these minutes, the Chairman informed the committee that a bid for funding a further Regulatory Enforcement Officer post, had been unsuccessful.

The committee APPROVED the revised draft Licensing Policy statement for public consultation, which would commence on 1 July 2018 for 12 weeks.

The Business Resources Manager presented the report seeking approval of the draft Licensing (2003 Act) Policy statement for a 12 week consultation process. The consultation would start on 1 July 2018.

The committee was informed that the Corporate Enforcement and Inspection Policy would be included as appendix B as a link to the policy; the policy itself was not part of the consultation.

The title would be amended to ‘Draft Statement of Licensing (2003 Act) Policy’

Concern was raised regarding the design of premises in relation to the misuse of drugs. The committee was informed that there was Section 182 guidance from the Secretary of State regarding the design of premises. The Police had the power to review a premises licence if they felt there was an issue with the misuse of drugs, and could ask for changes to be made to the layout of the premises. Despite their stretched resource, the Police conducted regular visits to premises they considered to be high risk. The policing of the misuse of drugs was delegated to the Chief Inspector. The Business Resources Manager would look into the possibility of inviting the Chief Inspector to speak to committee members about this. The committee was informed that the Scrutiny and Overview Committee would potentially be inviting the Police and Crime Commissioner to attend a future committee meeting.

Concern was raised that licensees were worried about calling the Police to their premises as there was a fear that calling the Police would result in the loss of their licence. This resulted in licensees trying to police things themselves.

The committee APPROVED the revised draft Licensing Policy statement for public consultation, which would commence on 1 July 2018 for 12 weeks.

The Committee APPROVED the draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Policy for public consultation.

The Business Resources Manager presented the report.

The title of the policy would be amended to ‘Draft Statement of Gambling Act 2005 Policy’.

The list of consultees was discussed. The inclusion of the reference to faith/belief groups in the list of those with which the Council would consult, was discussed. It was clarified that these were not statutory consultees. The committee was informed that the Diocese of Ely, Muslim Council and Humanists had been consulted on previous occasions; none had submitted a response.

The committee voted on whether faith/belief groups should be included in the list of persons/groups with which the Council would consult. Councillor Howell and Roberts requested their votes in favour of the inclusion of these groups be recorded. Eight members voted in favour of the removal of these groups from the list, three members voted against and there was one abstention. Faith and belief groups would therefore be removed from the list of persons/groups with which the Council would consult. It was pointed out that despite this,  these groups could still participate in the public consultation.

It was requested that information regarding relevant support groups be added to the Gambling Policy.

The committee was informed of the following:

·         This would be the 2019 policy, which would be reviewed after three years.

·         A change in legislation to fixed betting terminals was outside the remit of the local authority’s decision making powers, so would not be covered by this policy.

·         The district had five betting shops.

·         Licensing objectives were set out in legislation, so could not be changed in the policy.

·         Licensing officers had never received a complaint about any gambling premises in the district and advised that the proportionality of the risk should be kept in mind. Officers considered that the need for a local area profile was not proportionate to the risk in the district. It was suggested that the development of a local area profile be discussed with the Director of Health and Environmental Services, to assess whether this was relevant.

·         The Gambling Act and Licensing Act were entirely separate pieces of legislation.

·         The relationship between Licensing and Planning was discussed. The committee was informed that there was a move for Licensing and Planning to work together better.

The Committee APPROVED the draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Policy for public consultation.

Wednesday 17 October 2018 at 10am.

The next meeting would take place on Wednesday 17 October 2018 at 10am.