Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Haynes and Warren.

There were no declarations of interest.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 26 April 2017 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

There were no matters arising.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 22 March be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment (covering Licensing), assisted by Paul Dosanjh, Service Lead, Environmental Health, presented a report requesting approval of the proposed Health and Safety Statutory Plan for 2017/18.

In discussion with the Committee, the Cabinet Member cited the proactive approach taken by officers in response to budgetary cuts and the need to educate businesses to help them to achieve the necessary standards, as well as the importance of the Health and Safety team working closely with national bodies and accessing all relevant training available.

Members also questioned the legal requirements regarding child seats in licensed vehicles. 

Resolved:

1.     That the Health and Safety Statutory Plan for 2017/18, as detailed as an Appendix to the report of the Service Director – City Environment, be approved;

2.     That the Licensing Manger submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee detailing the legal position regarding child seats in licensed vehicles and the potential for the Licensing Authority to encourage and incentivise their use.

A verbal update and presentation by the Licensing Manager.

The Licensing Manager gave a demonstration of the new online ‘Track My Application’ facility, part of the upgrade to the online driver and vehicle application process.

In response to questions from the Committee the Licensing Manager stated the following:

·     All drivers would continue to be met in person prior to a Licence being granted;

·     In their eagerness to receive their Licence, applicants often called the Licensing team on multiple occasions to check on the progress of the application, to the extent that some telephone lines had been closed down due to the volume of calls.  The time taken by officers to respond to such unnecessary calls slowed the process down considerably.  The online process would circumvent that and save a considerable amount of officer time;

·     Where information regarding an applicant was sought from another local authority the Council asked for a response within 28 days.  However, there was no requirement of the authority to respond within that timeframe.  When information was requested from the City of Wolverhampton, officers would endeavour to provide it within a maximum 14 days;

·     If applicants provided all the necessary information and if their DBS checks came back clear, it was possible for a Licence to be granted within 3 days.

Resolved:     That the demonstration and verbal report of the Licensing Manager be noted.

Appendices 3-5 of this report are exempt by virtue of paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Licensing Manager presented a report seeking endorsement for the decision making process and powers delegated to the Director for Governance in relation to category 3 decision making and to detail decisions taken during the 2016/17 municipal year.

Resolved:

1.               That proposals detailed within the report of the Licensing Manager relating to category 2 decisions be endorsed and approved;

2.               That the proposals detailed within the report of the Licensing Manager relating to category 3 decisions be endorsed and approved;

3.               That category 3 decision making powers be delegated to the Director for Governance;

4.               That the schedule attached at Appendix 1 to the report of the Licensing Manager regarding further delegations from the Director for Governance be noted and approved;

5.               That the schedule of employee decisions for 2016/17, attached at Appendix 2 to the report of the Licensing Manager, in relation to the Licensing Authority as a Responsible Authority be noted;

6.               That the schedule of employee decisions for 2016/17, attached at Exempt Appendix 3 to the report of the Licensing Manager, in relation to new hackney carriage and private hire applications, be noted;

7.               That the schedule of employee decisions for 2016/17, attached at Exempt Appendix 4 to the report of the Licensing Manager, in relation to hackney carriage and private hire reviews, be noted;

8.               That the schedule of decisions for 2016/17, attached at Exempt Appendix 5 to the report of the Licensing Manager, in relation Magistrates and Crown Court appeals, be noted;

9.               That the Committee continue to receive delegation update reports at the beginning of each municipal year and that any exempt or personal information be anonymised to make all elements of the report publicly available.