PRESENT:          Cllr P Rogerson (in the Chair)

In attendance:

Councillor R B Colomb – Regulatory and Appeals Committee Chairman

Councillor D J Coe

Councillor Mrs A E Snelling

APOLOGIES:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J Dalton, A L Dunn and D G Fieldhouse.  It was noted that the Committee did not have arrangements for Standing Deputies at the time of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members received a comprehensive and highly informative presentation from officers, setting out the implications of the Licensing Act 2003 and the role of the Committee and Panels as presently contained within the draft guidance.  Final guidance was expected shortly, however, no date had been set by the Government as to when this might be due for publication.

In addition, Members received, for information, copies of the report and appendix previously submitted to the Regulatory and Appeals Committee on 24 September 2003.  The recommendation contained within that report relating to the constitution of the Committee was agreed by Council on 6 October 2003.

In explaining the new responsibilities delegated to local authorities under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, officers covered the areas of costs and income, licensing objectives and policy, licensable activities, licensing conditions and transitional arrangements.

In particular, Members noted with interest that in future the Council would possess powers to close premises that did not comply with the terms of a licence provided by the authority.  However, it was clarified that resource implications to perform such a function would need to be taken into account.  Furthermore, some Members expressed concern that the personal safety of Council staff, such as Environmental Health Officers, would need to be protected.  Also, the Police authorities would retain the ability to close premises independently of the Council.  Although the Licensing Policy had yet to be finalised, it was envisaged that the normal practice might be for Council staff to carry out closures accompanied by police officers.

The distinction was drawn between Premises licences and Personal licences, which were portable licences allowing individuals to sell and supply alcohol for consumption on or off a premises.  Members identified the potential difficulties of rogue or unscrupulous traders travelling from one part of the country to another and thereby abusing the Personal Licence Scheme.

Officers reported that they had been working closely with the Thames Valley Police Authority, with police representatives having been invited to the Member/Officer working group meetings.  Thames Valley Police were employing an extra 15 personnel to work on licensing at the central headquarters at Kidlington.

The production of a Licensing Policy by the Council was an obligatory requirement and would require revision or re-approval on a 3 year basis.  It was noted that the policy needed to take into account the guidance issued by the Secretary of State and fully recognise the following four licensing objectives:

In terms of legal implications, it was understood that if the policy was judicially reviewed, the Court could potentially ask a Council to review the wording and to correct any flaws.  The Council could not determine any licences without the Policy being in place.

The future role of the Committee and the Panels was considered in great detail.  Whilst the Committee was made up of 15 Members, the quorum of each Panel was 3 Members drawn from the Committee.  The function of the Licensing Panels would be to undertake hearings into all contested applications, where objections to the application or representations had been made. Appeals against the Council’s decisions would be heard by the magistrates, who would review the merits of the decision and had the power to award costs.   

The quasi-judicial function of the Panels entailed that voting on political lines was not permitted. Panel members were under a duty to take all relevant matters into account and make a fair and balanced decision, and clear reasons for the decision had to be given. Members either directly or indirectly involved with the application were not qualified to sit on the Panel dealing with that application.

Some Members felt it was inconvenient to hold Panel meetings during the day-time and queried whether more flexible arrangements could be adopted, such as evening or weekend hearings.  It was also acknowledged that in certain cases it might be necessary to call a Panel hearing at very short notice.  With approximately 700 licensed premises in the District, it was difficult to determine how much work the Panels would need to undertake in the course of any given year.  As such, officers would give further consideration to the timings of Panels.  These were currently scheduled to take place on a 3-weekly basis.  The timings of Panel hearings would be added to those matters included for general consultation by Members on the Policy.

Turning to the issue of training for Members, a session had been arranged to take place at Chiltern District Council offices on 27 May 2004.  This was a joint training session with Members and Officers from other authorities being present.  Members unable to attend that day would be provided with copies of the papers distributed and officers would update, as required.

For ease of reference, copies of the draft licensing policy and slide presentation submitted to this Committee would be available for inspection in the Members’ Room.

Rod Marshall, Divisional Environmental Health Officer, was warmly thanked for his helpful and informative presentation.  Against this background and after thorough and wide ranging debate it was:

Recommended:  That Council appoint Standing Deputies for the Licensing Committee, to be nominated by the Leaders of the Political Groups.

RESOLVED:  That Members be provided with a list of training opportunities, the Licensing consultation questionnaire and an opportunity to notify officers of suitable panel arrangements.

The Licensing Committee would meet in the Council Chamber at 7.00pm on:

Thursday 17 June 2004

Thursday 23 September 2004

Monday 1 November 2004

Thursday 20 January 2005

Thursday 3 March 2005

Members would be advised of the dates and times of Panel meetings in due course, once the arrangements had been put in place.  A list of dates was included on the approved Member Meetings timetable 2004/2005, previously circulated to all Members.

___________________

CHAIRMAN

The following officers were in attendance at the meeting;

Ms C Hughes     -     Head of Environmental Services

Mr R Marshall     -     Divisional Environmental Heath Officer

Mr D Ruddock     -     Assistant District Solicitor

Mr H R O Jones     -     Senior Democratic Services Officer