Agenda item

This report provides a preliminary response to member comments in the Review of Member Allowances that the Regulatory Committee should be formally reconstituted as two separate Committees: a Planning Committee and a Licensing Committee.

The Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager introduced the report which responded to comments that the Regulatory Committee should be formally reconstituted as two separate committees, a Planning Committee and Licensing Committee, which was originally suggested in the review of members’ allowances for the municipal year 2020/21. It was also noted that information relating to the planning and licensing arrangements for other London boroughs was set out in Appendix 1.

It was noted that many councils tended to have separate Licensing and Planning Committees. It was explained that the Licensing Committee was a statutory requirement and that two Licensing Sub-Committees would be required to consider ordinary licensing applications. It was noted that, as there would be two Licensing Sub-Committees, there may be a need to provide two Special Responsibility Allowances to the Chairs. In relation to the Planning Committee, it was noted that issues of planning policy were currently considered by the Regulatory Committee before being considered by Cabinet and Council. It was explained that planning policy could be added to the Planning Committee’s terms of reference or could be considered directly by Cabinet and Council. It was explained that the Chair of the Regulatory Committee had been consulted and considered that it was beneficial for policy issues to be considered initially by the Regulatory Committee.

The Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager explained that the report recommended that the existing arrangements were maintained in the short term. It was added that this issue could be kept under review and that any proposals could be discussed with the Regulatory Committee in the meantime. This proposal had been recommended because there were limited staff resources available at present to facilitate further investigation and constitutional changes due to the additional work generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members noted that there had been five special licensing meetings, four meetings of Licensing Sub-Committee B, and no meetings of Licensing Sub-Committee A in the last year; it was enquired why two Licensing Sub-Committees would be required if the planning and licensing functions were separated and it was noted that other London Boroughs did not appear to have this arrangement. The Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager explained that, when there was a separate licensing function previously, there were two Licensing Sub-Committees. In addition, given the current uncertainty and the potential for additional licensing reviews if businesses were failing to adhere to restrictions relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was considered useful to have an additional Licensing Sub-Committee. It was noted that the situation could be reviewed over the coming months and that Licensing and Legal officers could be consulted to determine whether there was a need for two Licensing Sub-Committees.

Members noted that it was envisaged that the Planning Committee Chair would have the same Special Responsibility Allowance as the Chair of the Regulatory Committee and the Licensing Committee Chair would have the same Special Responsibility Allowance as the Vice-Chair of the Regulatory Committee. The Committee stated that it would need to be convinced that there was a need to have two Licensing Sub-Committees. The uncertainty relating to the Covid-19 pandemic was noted but it was commented that this was unlikely to be a permanent issue. The Chair added that it would be useful to ascertain the previous arrangements in Haringey when the licensing and planning functions were considered by separate committees and to provide the Committee with this information.

It was noted that any changes to the structure of the Regulatory Committee would need to be approved at Council and that it would be best to recommend any changes to the annual meeting in May 2021. It was added that this would require the Committee to consider initial proposals at its meeting in January 2021 and to finalise any recommendations at its meeting or a special meeting in March 2021.

The Chair noted that the idea of separating the licensing and planning functions had been discussed with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Regulatory Committee who would prefer licensing and planning policy to be considered by the Regulatory Committee before being considered by Cabinet and Council. They had explained that the Regulatory Committee members made decisions on licensing and planning applications when they sat on the Licensing Sub-Committees and the Planning Sub-Committee and that it was important for them to contribute to policy decisions. The Chair stated that any proposals would need to be discussed with the Regulatory Committee.

It was noted that there were approximately 10 Planning Sub-Committee meetings per year and that the number of meetings would likely increase if planning policy issues were included in the terms of reference for the Planning Committee. It was added that some licensing issues, such as fees and charges and the Licensing Policy, may also need to be included in the terms of reference of the Licensing Committee. Some members commented that, although there would be additional Licensing Committee and Planning Committee meetings, there would be no Regulatory Committee meetings. It was commented that it would be useful to know the projected number of meetings compared to the existing number of meetings.

The Chair summarised that the Committee would like to further consider the separation of the Regulatory Committee into separate Licensing and Planning Committees. It was agreed that a report would be presented to the next Committee meeting, including information relating to whether and why two Licensing Sub-Committees would be required, the structure used when these two functions were previously separated in Haringey, and the potential impact on the number of meetings if the functions were separated. It was also noted that any information or proposals should be circulated to the Regulatory Committee at their meeting in January 2021 for comments before being considered by the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED

To note the information contained in the report. It was also agreed that a further report on the possibility of separating the Regulatory Committee into a Planning Committee and Licensing Committee would be requested for the next meeting and that the proposals would be presented to the Regulatory Committee meeting in January for comments.