Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - 3rd Floor - Civic Centre

Contact: Donna Cope, Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01902 554452 Email:  donna.cope@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

 

Councillor Milkinderpal Jaspal stated that he needed to withdraw from the meeting at 1130 hours.

 

2.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

3.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 301 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee held on 10 July 2019 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Matters arising

Minutes:

Item 7 – The Cabinet Member for City Environment had written to Parliament highlighting concerns over the lack of regulation for cosmetic procedures. Charlotte Rose, Senior Environmental Health Officer, has been asked to join a beauty, aesthetics and wellbeing all party parliamentary group where Member’s concerns would be considered further.

 

Item 9 – A notice of the proposed increase in Hackney Carriage Fares had been published in the Express and Star newspaper. No objections had been received and therefore the proposed increases would be implemented as per the report.

 

5.

Customer Services (Licensing) Verbal Update

Minutes:

Lisa Williams, Digital Change Manager, outlined the service and reported that there were currently ten Customer Services Officers assigned to dealing with Licensing enquiries. She presented data to Members, showing the average number of Licensing calls and the average time in which the calls were answered.

 

Members of the Committee questioned some of the data and the Digital Change Manager explained the discrepancies.

 

Members of the Committee and the Licensing Manager were concerned by the high number of abandoned calls and discussed ways to resolve this.

 

Following the discussions, it was agreed that an additional five Customer Services Officers would be recruited and assigned to Licensing Services.

 

Resolved:

That the verbal update be noted, and an additional five Customer Services Officers be recruited and assigned to Licensing Services.

 

6.

Consultation on Amendments to Private Hire Licence Conditions pdf icon PDF 285 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Chris Howell, Licensing Manager, presented a report asking Members to:

 

  1. Request Licensing Officers to undertake a consultation exercise with the trade groups.

 

  1. Request a future report to Licensing Committee detailing the consultation responses and a final draft of private hire conditions, with a recommendation, for consideration.

 

Discussions took place regarding the proposed amendments and the Licensing Manager responded to questions asked.

 

A Member of the Committee referred to Page 16 of the report and suggested that the condition regarding standard of dress should be revised. The Licensing Manager and Chair of Licensing Committee agreed and confirmed that the condition would be amended.

 

The Licensing Manager explained the consultation process further and welcomed responses from Members.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Requested Licensing Officers to undertake a consultation exercise with the trade groups.

 

  1. Requested a future report to Licensing Committee detailing the consultation responses and a final draft of private hire conditions, with a recommendation, for consideration.

 

7.

Administrative Fee for Extra Review Hearing pdf icon PDF 138 KB

Minutes:

Chris Howell, Licensing Manager, presented a report asking Members to:

 

  1. Approve the implementation of a fee for hearings where the applicant fails to attend without reasonable excuse.

 

The Licensing Manager discussed the additional fee in further detail and responded to questions asked.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Approved the implementation of a fee for hearings where the applicant fails to attend without reasonable excuse.

 

8.

Get Home Safe Campaign pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Minutes:

Chris Howell, Licensing Manager, presented a report asking Members to:

 

1. Note the Get Home Safe campaign.

 

Glenn Moseley, Licensing Compliance Officer, outlined the campaign and responded to questions asked.

 

Posters and leaflets for the campaign were distributed by the Democratic Services Officer and it was agreed that Members would receive further promotional materials when available.

 

Members acknowledged the importance of such initiatives and welcomed the campaign.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

1. Noted the Get Home Safe campaign.