Agenda item

This report advises members of changes to the guidance accompanying the Licensing Act 2003to which they are required to have regard to in making related licensing decisions.

Members considered a report that advised them of changes to the guidance accompanying the Licensing Act 2003 to which they are required to have regard to in making related licensing decisions.

The Head of Licensing and Bereavement Services reported that the majority of the text in the guidance was the same but the document had been entirely reformatted making it much easier to use. He brought the following important changes to the attention of the Committee:

·        There had been a shift in emphasis within the document and words such as ‘…promotion of the licensing objectives is paramount…’ now appears several times within the guidance.

·        The revised guidance gave more ‘room for manoeuvre’ in terms of dealing with public nuisance.

·        Paragraphs 1.23 – 1.27 of the revised guidance related to integrated strategies and referred to the powers of the licence holders.  They stress that the Act is part of the Government’s strategy to tackle crime, disorder, antisocial behaviour and alcohol harm. Effective targeted enforcement is encouraged … Paragraph 1.26 states that licence holders cannot be responsible for the control of individuals when away from their premises but states that they should take reasonable steps to prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance immediately outside their premises, for example on the pavement, in a beer garden or smoking shelter to the extent where these matters are within their control. Paragraph 1.27 states that licensing authorities may consider imposing conditions as appropriate when considering applications for new licences or following a review in respect of these areas. The Officer’s opinion was that given the new guidance the licensing sub-committee could use conditions to control activities in a smoking shelter, designated smoking area or beer garden where the issues are in the control of the licence holder.

·        Paragraph 9.8 relates to relevant, vexatious and frivolous representations and contains an important addition to the previous guidance. The addition read as follows ‘…There is no requirement for an interested party or responsible authority to produce a recorded history of problems at a premise to support their representations, and in fact this would not be possible for new premises…’ The Officer stated that this addition, accompanied by the emphasis on prevention in paragraph 2.35, will enable interested parties and responsible authorities such as environmental protection to make representations on the likelihood of problems occurring rather than having to rely on a history of previous incidents.

Members were unclear as to the changes set out in paragraphs 2.19 –2.29 of the guidance; specifically those relating to the implementation of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which replaced previous fire safety legislation.  They sought clarity on whether they would still know the maximum occupancy figure of a premises when considering a licensing application. The Council’s legal advisor confirmed that the Licensing Officer would be able to seek the capacity figure from the Fire Authority and this could be included in any report sent to the sub-committee in relation to specific licensing hearings.

The Committee generally felt that there was a lack of provision within the revised guidance to allow for Members to make general representations regarding licensing applications within their wards. They felt that this needed to be brought to the attention of the relevant Government departments.

Members generally felt that they wanted to encourage the promotion of responsible drinking within the City and the Head of Licensing and Bereavement Services confirmed that this was something he would be working on in the near future. Members also requested that the Officer write to the appropriate Government departments and all local Members of Parliament to express their concerns regarding the lack of reference to ‘the promotion of responsible drinking’ within the revised guidance document and the lack of provision for Members to make general representations on licensing applications within their own wards.

Members felt that licensing related material should not be looked at in isolation and it was important to look at things as a whole. They requested that the Officer bring an update on alcohol reduction schemes to the Committee for information.

RESOLVED:            

1.      Members noted the content of the new guidance and will have regard to it when coming to any licensing decisions under the Licensing Act 2003.

2.      That the Head of Licensing and Bereavement Services write to the appropriate Government departments and all local Members of Parliament to express Members’ concerns regarding the lack of reference to ‘the promotion of responsible drinking’ within the revised guidance document and the lack of provision for Members to make general representations on licensing applications within their own wards.

3.      That the Head of Licensing and Bereavement Services bring an update to the Committee regarding alcohol reduction schemes.

REASON:      To comply with statutory requirements.