Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest made.

An application for a review of a Premises Licence in respect of Saver Express, 19 Finchfield Road West, Wolverhampton, WV3 8AY had been received from The City of Wolverhampton Trading Standards Department as a Responsible Authority.

The Chair welcomed all parties to the hearing and invited all those present to introduce themselves. All parties did so. She outlined the procedure to be followed and all parties confirmed that they understood the procedure.

The Sub-Committee’s statutory duty was to consider the application and any representations, and to take such steps as contained in the Licensing Act 2003 as it considered appropriate for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives

Debra Craner, Section Leader Licensing, provided an outline of the report. Dianne Slack, Tobacco Control Officer for Trading Standards (Applicant), confirmed that the summary was accurate.

The Chair invited Trading Standards to present their application. Dianne Slack, Tobacco Control Officer, did so as per Appendix 3 of the report and the Supplementary Agenda pack.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Applicant in relation to her submission. Dianne Slack, Tobacco Control Officer, provided responses to questions asked.

The Chair invited the Premises Licence Holder to make representations. Mr Geoff Dixon, representative for the Premises Licence Holder, did so. He stated the following:

1. His client and her husband, Mr Singh, had held three premises licences over the last 13 years and had never had any issues before.
2. His client was horrified at what had happened and acknowledged the severity of it.
3. The member of staff who made the sale had undergone training but made a mistake and would be retrained.
4. Since the incident his client had done a refresher course and would be returning to work at the store following a period of absence. Her husband, Mr Singh would also undertake the refresher training.
5. His client was unaware that the vapes were illegal and had not tried to conceal them.
6. His client had addressed the other issues raised during the visit from Trading Standards and the licence was now properly displayed.
7. A suspension of the licence to enable robust training would be the appropriate and proportionate action.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Premises Licence Holder in relation to their submission. Mr Geoff Dixon and Mrs Sonia Kaur responded to questions asked.

The Chair invited West Midlands Police to make representations. Kayley Nixon did so as per Appendix 6 of the report. She stated that West Midlands Police fully supported the application for review and agreed that the licence should be revoked or suspended to allow the delivery of training.

The Chair invited all parties present to question West Midlands Police in relation to its submission. Kayley Nixon responded to questions asked.

The Chair invited Public Health to make representations. Ryan Hollings, Senior Public Health Specialist, did so as per Appendix 5 of the report. He stated that Public Health supported the application for review and recommended that the licence be revoked.

The Chair invited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.