Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Harman Banger, Craig Collingswood and Paul Singh.

There were no declarations of interest.

(a) Licensing Committee – meetings, 18 June, 25 June and 9 July 2014 (for approval)

(b) Licensing Sub-Committee – meetings 2 July, 11 July and 6 August (for approval and adoption)

(c) Licensing Sub-Committee (Private Hire and Hackney Carriage) – meetings 18 June and 13 August 2014 (for approval and adoption)

Resolved:

(a) That the minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Committee held on 18 June, 15 June and 9 July 2014 be approved as a correct record.

(b) That the minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 2 July, 11 July and 6 August 2014 be approved as a correct record and adopted.

(c) That the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Private Hire and Hackney Carriage) held on 18 June and 13 August 2014 be approved as a correct record and adopted.

Pursuant to minute 8 of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 18 June 2014, the Licensing Manager advised that a further report in regard to city centre street trading designation of licensed streets would be presented in the new year at following completion of the consultation period.

The Licensing Manager provide a verbal update on appeals to the Magistrate’s Court in regard to a private hire vehicle operator and two hackney carriage drivers.  All of the cases had been dismissed; one of the drivers had submitted a further appeal to the Crown Court.

The Licensing Manager advised that the city centre night time economy visit had been provisionally scheduled to take place on Saturday 6 December 2014 and he urged councillors to participate in the event.

A report was presented, which provided a schedule of outstanding issues for consideration by the Committee.

Resolved:

            That the report be received.

To consider and comment on the update

A report was presented, which provided an update in relation to the implementation of the Wolverhampton Alcohol Strategy 2011-2015 with a special emphasis on Goal 1 (Supporting a whole community approach to changing alcohol habits in Wolverhampton).  The report also provided updates on local and national initiatives in relation to the alcohol agenda. Some of the dashboard information was missing from the report and copies of the emended paperwork were circulated at the meeting.

Responding to their questions, councillors were advised that:

·         regional meetings involving neighbouring authorities were held, one of which was due to take place the following day.  The officer undertook to seek information on action taken by other authorities in regard to alcohol mortality rates and to report back to the Committee.

·         a variety of  lifestyle factors can affect mortality rates and mental health issues can be a factor, but there is no specific information available regarding the average alcohol consumption of those with mental health issues.  However this aspect will be explored with the evidence and intelligence team and the outcome reported to the Committee.

·         the Alcohol Strategy will shortly be reviewed and the Licensing Committee will be requested to make a contribution.

·         a common approach is taken nationally in respect of the recording of alcohol mortality rates, which enables comparisons of the national average and comparator groups. A response will be sought to the question as to whether in instances where the perpetrator of a crime has consumed alcohol but the victim has not is record as a alcohol related crime.

·         consideration will be given to the issue of communication of information to all areas of the community and the outcome reported back to the Licensing Committee.

·         an investigation will be made into any evidence available regarding alcohol issues linking to different professions and reported back to the Committee.

·         Public Protection, West Midlands Police and Food Safety meet with HM Revenue and Customs to tackle issues of non-licensed premises selling dangerous alcohol.  This issue is, however, quite rare and counterfeit tobacco products and non-duty paid cigarettes are a greater problem. Instances where deaths have occurred due to dangerous alcoholic substances are reported to agencies who act immediately to deal with the source of the substance.

·         with regard to the Wolverhampton Drug Education Programme, discussions are held with teachers via the Healthy Schools Team.

Resolved:

            (a) That the report be received.

            (b) That the response to the minimum pricing loophole concerning

super strength lager be endorsed.

(c) That a further update be presented in six months time.

To consider the requirement to display signs and endorse the implementation of a formal consultation process.

A report was presented which sought consideration as to whether the requirement for private hire vehicles to display a type approved roof sign is removed as a private hire vehicle licence condition.  The report also sought endorsement to the implementation of a formal consultation exercise in this respect.

Responding to questions the officer indicated that, should the decision be made to remove roof signs, there would be adequate signage and safety procedures in place to assure passengers that the vehicle they have booked is a licensed private hire vehicle.

Resolved:

            (a) That the implementation of a formal consultation process regarding

the display of roof signs to private hire vehicles be endorsed.

(b) That a further report be presented at the end of the twelve week

consultation period.

To pass the following resolution:

That in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it involves the disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

Resolved:

That in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it involves the disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

To consider the report

The Licensing Manager presented a schedule of officer decisions made during the municipal year 2013/14, in regard to the following areas of work:

·         Licensing Authority as a Responsible Authority

·         New Private Hire and Hackney Carriage applications

·         Hackney Carriage/Private Hire reviews and scrap metal

·         Appeals

It was noted that there were two further appeals pending and that, in future, the schedule of officer decisions would be submitted at the beginning of each municipal year. It was also agreed that the reports would include statistics in relation to the previous year. Consideration would also be given to drafting the report so that it can be presented in the public section of the agenda and to putting the information into the public domain via the council’s press office.

Resolved:

That the schedule of officer decisions be received.