Decision details

Licensing Committee agreed at it’s meeting on 21 February 2006 to defer any recommendation to full Council on extending the duration of the Licensing Bodies in Election Year, pending receipt of Counsel’s advice on the lawfulness of the measures proposed.  This was not available at the time of despatch of the Agenda and Notice for this meeting.  Members had now had the opportunity to consider Counsel’s advice and subsequent officer recommendations which were set out in the late report. 

To recap, members had been asked to consider arrangements to continue the operation of one or more of the existing Licensing sub committees until the Annual Meeting in order to ensure that the Council’s statutory duties to hear Licensing Applications under the 2003 Act were discharged. 

The Legal Services Representative set out this report and advised members that Counsel had advised, under the 2003 Act, that a Licensing Committee could function with less than the statutory minimum of 10 members; provided that there was a quorum of 4.  Whilst it was not outside the regulations to have sub groups of less than 3, it was felt to be desirable to have a minimum of three.

This ruling therefore eliminated the need to delegate powers to the Chief Executive; as proposed in the original report to the Licensing Committee on 21February.  It would also be acceptable to extend the powers of the existing Licensing Committee to 22 May 2006 (Annual Council), subject to the Committee only discharging essential functions to meet the statutory obligations of the 2003 Act in determining contested applications.  In order to facilitate this, a small addition to the Terms of Reference was necessary, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.  

Members unanimously agreed to the recommendation as set out below and expressed their satisfaction at having sought Counsel’s opinion first.  

RECOMMENDED

1.                 That Full Council be recommended, via the General Purposes Committee:

·      To confirm the current appointment of Members to the Licensing Committee to extend to the Annual Meeting of the Council on 22 May 2006, subject to the same conditions set out in (1) above

(i)                 The individual members being re-elected as Councillors

(ii)               That it has powers to act only for the purpose of determining contested matters that the Licensing Authority is required to decide before the newly appointed Licensing Sub-committee are able to meet. 

·      To adopt the changes to the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee, set out in Appendix 3 to the report, as amendments to Part E7 of the Council’s Constitution.