Agenda item

Briefing from the Licensing Officer, Dale Barrett on:

The Late Night Levy – Regulations

Revision of Statement of Licensing Policy

Live Music Act 2012

Late Night Levy – Regulations

Daliah Barrett presented the briefing on the draft Late Night Levy regulations, as set out in the report circulated, and discussed the issues with the Committee.

• Concerns were raised regarding the engagement of the police in Licensing matters; it was felt that Members should hear from the police regarding the criteria they applied in determining whether to make representations on applications.
• It was felt that there needed to be a good level of engagement between licensees and the police, as had been the case when the 2003 Licensing Act was introduced.
• In assessing the case for a Late Night Levy, it was felt that there was a need to discuss with the police their resource requirements around policing the late night economy.
• Concern was raised that premises could alter their hours for licensable activity in order not to be liable for the levy charge, but would be able to allow customers to remain on the premises with alcohol previously purchased; this would make regulation and enforcement of licensable activity more challenging.
• Concern was expressed that there may be pressure from other organisations for the Council to adopt the Late Night Levy and that the Council should try to be ahead of the process in order to be able to handle such pressure appropriately. Ms Barrett advised that the police had indicated that they did not intend to try to influence the decision of any borough with regards to the adoption of the measures.
• It was noted that licensees of smaller premises could not always attend meetings or forums as they could not close down their premises in order to be able to attend, however information was distributed to all licence holders to ensure that they were aware of issues affecting them.
• It was suggested that this issue should be looked at in greater detail in another type of way, for example a wider forum or seminar attended by the police and other responsible authorities, rather than a formal meeting, to enable a more rounded look at the relevant issues. It was agreed that this should be arranged.
• The Committee requested a further report that reflected the discussions that had been held with Corporate Board and the Cabinet Member around this issue. Ms Barrett agreed to produce a more detailed report.
• Once the Regulatory Committee had considered this issue in greater detail, with a fuller report and evidence from other responsible authorities, it was felt to be essential that all Councillors should be invited to a session on this issue, as it would affect all Ward Members.
• It was suggested that this was an issue the Environment and Housing Scrutiny Panel could look at; Cllr McNamara would contact the Chair and Ms Barrett regarding taking this forward outside the meeting.
• Cllr Demirci advised that he would be discussing this issue with the Cabinet Member as part of his regular meetings as Chair of the Committee.
• Ms Barrett reminded members that a training session which would cover this topic was scheduled for the new year; all Committee Members were encouraged to attend.

Revision of Statement of Licensing Policy

Daliah Barrett presented the briefing on the need to update the statement of Licensing Policy, as set out in the report circulated, and discussed the issues with the Committee.

• Members were encouraged to contact Ms Barrett with any suggested ideas relating to the statement of licensing policy.
• It was suggested that the process for engaging with licensing applications and consultations should be made more explicit to local residents, in order to encourage a greater level of response to applications.
• It was noted that the list of consultees needed to be updated to reflect the change from the Area Child Protection Committee to the Local Safeguarding Board, and the new Health service structures.
• Ms Barrett advised that with regard to individual applications, the Council had trialled writing out to local residents within the vicinity of premises subject to a licensing application, but that this had resulted in a significantly higher level of work for the Council and had not led to a noticeable increase in the number of submissions received.
• Joan Hancox, Head of Neighbourhood Services, advised that a budget had been identified for consultation on the Statement of Licensing Policy itself.
• The Committee suggested that the budget for consultation on licensing applications should be considered carefully to ensure it was sufficient for adequate consultation, and that there was a need to balance affordability with ensuring that consultation was reaching all the appropriate people.

Live Music Act 2012

Daliah Barrett presented the briefing on the amendments to the Licensing Act 2003 contained within the Live Music Act, as set out in the report circulated, and discussed the issues with the Committee.

• In response to a question from the Committee, it was confirmed that mechanisms were in place to address any concerns raised as the result of complaints about a premises.
• It was agreed that Ms Barrett would produce a chart mapping out the various pieces of Licensing legislation for the Committee’s information, and that this would be covered in the training in January.