Issue - meetings

To consider the draft Statement of Licensing Policy as part of the consultation process (report of the Assistant Director – Regulatory enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Regulatory which asked the Policy Development Panel to consider the draft Statement of Licensing Policy as part of the consultation process.

The Public Protection Manager, the Licensing Team Leader and the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection were in attendance for this item.

The Public Protection Manager introduced the report to members. The Policy Development Panel was being consulted as part of the open consultation process.

Proposed material changes to the existing policy were summarised at point 2.1.2 of the covering report.

The  Draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2025-2030 was at Appendix 1 which included details of the following areas:

·         Introduction and the South Holland District;

·         Background, including the purpose and scope of the Licensing Policy;

·         The integration of other guidance, policies and legislation;

·         Promotion of Licensing objectives;

·         General Licensing principles;

·         Applications;

·         Cumulative impact;

·         Sexual entertainment venues;

·         Enforcement reviews, closure orders and appeals,

·         Information regarding the following areas was appended to the document:

o   Delegation of functions;

o   Responsible authorities; and

o   Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

·         Members queried the level of visibility into premises and debated the suggested 50 per cent of window space that should remain unobstructed. The Business Frontage Task Group had debated this issue and felt that a maximum of 30 per cent of window space be covered. Supplementary guidance was needed for businesses and to ensure consistent working methods across council departments.

o   The Public Protection Manager responded that:

§  The policy applied solely to licenced premises;

§  The policy conditions could not be retrospectively applied to established licenced businesses but could be considered where a licence review was being undertaken; 

§  New businesses would be encouraged to include policy aspects within their operating schedules and therefore leading to inclusion within licence conditions; and

§  Enforcement could only relate to a licensing objective, such as prevention of crime and disorder, and be in connection with a licensing activity.  

o   The Licensing Team Leader added that the purpose of the advisory notice in respect of window visibility was to act as a mechanism for the police should any representation to a licence application need to be reinforced. The role of Licensing was not to provide specifications to businesses for reasons of aesthetics.

o   The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection added that the requirement to ensure a clear view into premises would serve to improve the street scene as well as giving weight to the police if required. 

·         Members referred to the PSPO and queried whether sufficient enforcement resources were in place.

o   The Public Protection Manager responded that the police acted as the lead agency for PSPO enforcement, and that consultation of the policy had taken place with all responsible authorities;

o   The Licensing Team Leader added that the police were proactive in their activities and would review a licence where a pattern of non-compliance emerged.

AGREED:

That the draft Statement of Licensing Policy be noted.

To review the Policy in preparation for consultation – (Report of Assistant Director – Regulatory enclosed)

The Chairman introduced the Licensing Officer to present the Licensing Act 2003 Draft Statement of Licensing Policy to enable the members to review the Draft Policy in preparation for public consultation.

The Licensing Officer detailed that the report highlighted the proposed revised statement of Licensing Policy for South Holland District Council. The policy was being presented to the committee as part of the Councils statutory duty to carry out a review of the Licensing Policy every 5 years.

The policy set out the process that the council would apply when determining applications under the Licensing Act 2003, this would ensure that the licensing objectives were suitably promoted and upheld. The objectives under the Licensing Act 2003, were:

• The prevention of crime and disorder;
• Public safety
• The prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm

The purpose of the policy was to assist applicants in understanding what the authority sought to achieve and to advise on measures that applicants could implement to promote those objectives. The policy also served as a reference document for all decisions made by the Licensing Authority.

The policy would not undermine the rights of any person who wished to apply for a licence, submit representation on an application, or apply for a review of a licence under the Provisions Act. Each individual request would be considered on its own merits.

Whilst licensing law was a key element of controlling certain aggravation along with anti-social behaviour, the policy made it clear that it should not be used as the primary mechanism for regulating instances away from the immediate vicinity of the licensed premises.

Several amendments had been made to the existing policy. Those amendments had been detailed within the body of the document. Some amendments were non-material, including updates of population statistics and the number of licensed premises.

The material amendments were:

• Additions to section 4.3 to provide general information and guidance for applicants and licence holders on measures they may consider adopting, to promote the public safety licensing objective, this included advice on how to protect patrons from drink spiking.
• Incidents of drink spiking were on the increase to an extent that the Home Office had published a national strategy on tackling the issue.
• The policy advises the promotion of.
  • Staff training,
  • Employment of door supervisors/security.
  • Awareness of local taxi providers.
  • Safe spaces for customers.
  • Preventative measures to prevent drugs entering the premises.
  • CCTV.
  • Promoting consumer materials and products such as informative posters, anti-spiking bottle tops, to help mitigate related incidents.

• The policy also provided advice on the action to be taken when a suspected incident had occurred, for example, recording relevant details, contacting emergency services, and securing the spiked drink so it could be analysed by the police.  

• In addition to those practices the revised policy encouraged licence holders along with new applicants to promote several established schemes to advocate public safety.

Suggested schemes include:

• Ask for Angela – a non-profit scheme that would provide licensees with the knowledge and tools they require  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3