Meeting documents

There were no declarations of interest.

To sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2015.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2015, copies of which had been previously circulated, were agreed by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Act requires that all operators’ licences be issued with a standard duration of 5 years.  A fee structure has been devised to cover the costs of issuing the licences and monitoring compliance.  The current fees were collected annually and so there would be an admin saving due to issuing the fees less frequently.  A further £3 reduction could also be made to round up the figures.  Cabinet had already discussed the fees and had delegated the final fee structure to this Committee.

Once agreed, there would be a statutory requirement for a consultation period.  The fees would be advertised in the local press for 28 days, included on the website and current holders would be contacted.  The fees would be adopted on or near 1 October 2015 depending on whether or not objections were received.  Members agreed that the Head of Healthy Communities and the Chairman of the Licencing and Regulation Committee would consider any objections.

The Committee also noted the change regarding sub-contracting.  From 1 October 2015, it would be possible for licence holders to sub-contract to another operator with a suitable licence, issued from any area.

The Committee agreed the proposed fee structure but considered it was unnecessary to round down the figures.

RESOLVED

The Committee noted the implications of the Deregulation Act 2015 in relation to the Taxi and Private Hire trade and agreed the recommended 5 year fee structure and the consultation process delegating any variation as considered necessary by the Head of Healthy Communities in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing & Regulation Committee.

The final revised draft was presented in appendix 1 for consideration by the committee.  There had been a formal consultation for 12 weeks to consider the review and only one response had been received.  The Committee were asked to recommend the draft to Cabinet at its meeting on 20 October 2015 and that the draft Statement of Principles be adopted by Council at the meeting on 3 November 2015, to come into effect from 1 January 2016.

The Committee agreed to recommend to Council to resolve not to issue casino premises licences, in accordance with Section 166 of the 2005 Act, with effect from 1 January 2016.

RESOLVED

1.    To recommend the final draft of the Gambling Act 2005 Licensing Statement of Principles - 2015 revision to Cabinet and Council for adoption with effect for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018.

2.    To recommend to Council to resolve with effect from 1 January 2016 not to issue casino premises licences, in accordance with Section 166 of the 2005 Act.