To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 30 September 2014, as a correct record

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 30 September 2014 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

No additional declarations of interest were made.

There were no actions. Members thanked the Licensing Partnership for a successful 5 year celebration.

Members were presented with a report which detailed the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing fees for the year 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016. The consultation would be put on the Council’s website and emailed to the Taxi Trade for a 28 day consultation. Members were advised that there was only a small increase in the fees for some of the administrative process.

In response to a question, Members were advised that further analysis indicated that driver licence fees were renewed in thirds as the licence fee was for a three year period and therefore there was no need to increase the fees and charges for licence fees for 2015/16.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved:  That the fee levels as set out in paragraph 7 of the report were appropriate for consultation with the taxi trade and public.

The report set out the proposed fees for the Gambling Act 2005 and Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for the year 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016. The Licensing Partnership Manager informed Members that the recommendation in the report was also to include the fees set out in Appendix A and paragraph 11 of the report.  The fees ensured that the Council complied with its statutory duty and ensured that the Gambling Licensing service remained self-financing in accordance with the Council’s Service and Budget Plan.

In response to a question, Members were informed that the model used broke down the various steps to produce the licences and the increase had mostly been on areas where the Council did not have any licensees and had been based on the ‘time’ it would take if a licence of it’s type was submitted. The Licensing Partnership Manager gave Members the example of a bingo hall.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Full Council that the fee levels as set out in Appendix A and paragraph 11 in the report be approved.

The report detailed consultation responses to the Council’s proposed revision of Statement of Licensing Policy which set out the policies the Council would generally apply to promote the licensing objectives when making decisions on applications made under the 2003 Act.

Members noted that most of the comments made had already been implemented or been responded to sufficiently.  A Member commented that there were formatting issues on page 38 of the agenda and that paragraph 17.12 was incomplete and carried over to paragraph 17.14.  The committee was advised that the formatting and numbering would be adjusted. It was also brought to Members attention that quorum for the Licensing Hearing was 2 and therefore paragraph 16.2 should include the word generally so that the sentence would read as ‘A sub committee will normally generally consist of 3 suitably trained members’.

A Member commented that paragraph 3.8 did not read well and the word ‘are’ should be removed from the paragraph.  In response to a question the Licensing Partnership Manager advised that the policy should incorporate other policies that the Council had and health was a key subject for the Council, therefore it was important that all policies within the council were linked and showed best practice. She clarified that licenses were not being asked to diagnose health issues but rather, when they were aware of conditions that their customers may have, to consider whether it was suitable to keep serving alcohol to that individual.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That subject to the comments of the Licensing Committee, Full Council approve the statement of the Licensing Policy.

The report set out the proposed increase for Hackney Carriage permitted maximum fare increase to adopt from 1 March 2015 following consultation with the Hackney Carriage proprietors.

In response to a question the Licensing Partnership Manager advised that the proposed fare increases were the maximum a Hackney Carriage could charge and it was the discretion of the taxi driver as to whether they increased their fares and there had been a reduction in the initial distance charge.  Members were advised that this was the first time since 2011 that fees had been increased and the taxi trade approached the council with the proposals which then went to consultation before it was brought to the Licensing Committee.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That

a)        the Chief Officer Environmental and Operational Services be authorised to publicise the proposed fare increase; and

b)        the proposed fares take effect on 1 March 2015 if no unresolved objections are received.