To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 11 March 2023, the Special Licensing Committee held on 23 May 2023, and the Licensing Hearings held on 7 March 2023, and 27 April 2023 as a correct record.

The Chairman advised that there was a typographical error on the agenda that the Minutes of the Committee meeting on 11 March 2023 should read as 11 January 2023, and these were included in the agenda.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 11 January 2023 and on 23 May 2023 and the Licensing Hearings held on 7 March 2023 and 27 April 2023 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

There were none.

There were none.

The Head of the Licensing Partnership presented the annual update on the performance and activity of the Partnership and advised that the report concerned the municipal year 2022/23, rather than 2023/24 as stated on the agenda front sheet. The report presented key Partnership performance targets and indicators which were assessed against the Service Plan Objectives 2022/23. Performance had been very positive and the Partnership had met a large number of objectives. The report also presented the Licensing Service Plan for 2023/24.

The Head of the Licensing Partnership also gave a presentation on recent licensing legislative developments. She explained that she had been appointed the London and South east Regional Representative for the Local Government Association and regularly gave feedback on various policy changes considered by the Government. A recent survey had been undertaken which sought views on potential changes to the  Licensing Act 2003 statutory fees and had received a good response rate. She had advocated for more locally set fees, which would allow the Council to have control over implementing tailored fees and charges.

In response to a question regarding performance indicators and targets, Members were advised that the target for the processing of taxi licence applications for the year 2023/24 had been reduced to ten working days to reflect the efficiency of the service. Members discussed the positive performance of the Partnership and the potential benefits of the ability to set fees locally.

The Committee thanked the Head of the Licensing Partnership for the update and the Team for all their hard work. It was suggested that an annual update on the activity of the Licensing Partnership continue to be provided to the Committee.

Resolved: That the performance of the Licensing Partnership be noted, and the Head of the Licensing Partnership continue to provide an annual update on the activity of the Licensing Partnership to the Committee each municipal year.

The Work Plan was noted with the following additions:

14   September 2023

• Review of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.
• Hackney Carriage And Private Hire Licensing: Licence Fees And Charges 2024/25