Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members].

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2023.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2023 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record subject to the wording of the phrase ‘The applicant did not have a connection with Gladstone Garage as it was a separate legal entity’ in section two of the Application for a Private Hire Operators licence - Mohammed Iqbal, trading as York Cars (Private Hire) being updated to reflect what was said at the meeting.

Cllr Cuthbertson was appointed as Vice Chair for the meeting.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday 4 August 2023. 

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form.  If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.  Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Williams Swords had registered to speak on matters within the Committee’s remit. He asked for an update on the ten unissued hackney carriage licences and asked what the council’s policy was on tinted windows in private hire vehicles. He read out the DfT guidance on tinted windows in private hire vehicles. His comments were noted and the Chair undertook to contact him following the meeting.

This report asks Members to determine the format of licensing sub-committee hearings held by the City of York Council (the Council), as the licensing authority, when determining applications made under the Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) and Gambling Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) which have been opposed.   

Members considered a report asking them to determine the format of licensing sub-committee hearings held by the City of York Council (the Council), as the licensing authority, when determining applications made under the Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) and Gambling Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) that had been opposed.   The Council’s current practice of holding remote of sub-committee hearings had been queried by some members of the Committee and it was important that Members agreed whether to hold sub-committee hearings remotely or in person in the future.

The Chair introduced the item and the Licensing Manager confirmed that holding the hearings in person or remotely were legal and that in future there may be case law on the matter. She noted that there had never been a Sub Committee Hearing under the Gambling Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) and that prior to the pandemic all hearings had been held in person and the return to in person hearings was now practice for at other councils in the region, including the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. She noted the comments from consultees.

The Licensing Manager detailed the four options available to Members:

Option 1 – Determine that Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 sub-committee hearings will continue to be held remotely. 

Option 2 – Determine that Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 sub-committee hearings will be held in person.  Stipulating an implementation date for when this change will take effect.

Option 3 – Determine that format of Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 sub-committee hearings will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the application and the number of representations.  That the Chair and Vice Chair of this Committee will agree a procedure to aid officers when determining the format of the meeting.  Stipulating an implementation date for when this change will take effect.

Option 4 – Determine that format of Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 sub-committee hearings will be held in a hybrid format, with Members and officers attending in person at West Offices and the applicant and representors being given the option to participate in person or remotely.  Stipulating an implementation date for when this change will take effect.

In response to Member questions, Licensing Manager explained that:

·        Asking the applicant about their preference for a hearing being held in person or remotely could be unfair to representors in not giving them a choice for the format of the hearing.

·        The police preferred remote hearings.

·        The cost associated with in person hearings would be that a room would be needed.

·        Concerning changing the format subject to representor(s) not being able to be online, there were timescales that needed to be adhered to and the council needed to advertise when and where the meeting would be held.

Following debate with a number of suggestions made regarding the format of hearings, Cllr Warters proposed option 2, to determine that Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 sub-committee hearings will be held  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

Any other business which the Chair considers urgent under the  Local Government Act 1972.

A Member asked for an update on Drive private hire vehicles under urgent business. This was declined by the Chair as it did not meet the requirements of Urgent Business under the Local Government Act 1972. A further Member requested that a forward plan be included on future agendas.