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:

Apologies were received from Councillors John Rowley, Keith Inston, Jane Stevenson and Milkinder Jaspal

2.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 28 November 2018 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

4.

Matters arising

Minutes:

There were no matters arising.

5.

Licensing Sub-Committee - 21 November 2018 - Minutes pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 21 November 2018 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

6.

Licensing Sub-Committee - 23 November 2018 - Minutes pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 23 November 2018 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

7.

Review of Fees and Charges for General Licensing and Miscellaneous Matters for 2019/2020 pdf icon PDF 260 KB

[To approve fees and charges with effect from 1 April 2019]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Michelle James, Licensing Policy Manager, presented a report asking Members to:

 

  1. Approve the proposed fees and charges for General Licensing with effect from 1 April 2019.

 

The Licensing Policy Manager outlined the proposals for the coming year and discussed how the fees and charges had been determined.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

Approved the proposed fees and charges for General Licensing with effect from 1 April 2019.

8.

Review of Fees and Charges for Street Trading Consents for 2019/2020 pdf icon PDF 288 KB

[To approve fees and charges with effect from 1 April 2019]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Michelle James, Licensing Policy Manager, presented a report asking Members to:

 

  1. Approve the proposed fees and charges for Annual Street Trading Consents with effect from 1 April 2019.

 

  1. Approve the proposed fees and charges for Occasional/Temporary Street Trading Consents with effect from 1 April 2019.

 

  1. Note that a review of the Street Trading Policy provision is taking place.

 

A Member of the Licensing Committee referred to the Street Trading Policy review and requested for it to be considered by the Stronger City Economy Scrutiny Panel.

 

In response to this, Sarah Hardwick, Senior Solicitor, advised that the issuing of street trading consents was controlled by Licensing Services, however, if an independent study or report was produced, providing it was a matter of public record, the documents could be fed into other areas for information.

Members of the Committee sought clarification on further street trading matters and the Licensing Policy Manager duly responded.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Annual Street Trading Consents with effect from 1 April 2019.

 

  1. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Occasional/Temporary Street Trading Consents with effect from 1 April 2019.

 

Noted that a review of the Street Trading Policy provision is taking place.

9.

Review of Fees and Charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing functions for 2019/2020 pdf icon PDF 168 KB

[To approve fees and charges with effect from 1 April 2019]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

  1. Approve the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers with effect from 1 May 2019.

 

  1. Approve the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles with effect from 1 May 2019.

 

  1. Approve the introduction of a two years badge for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers.

 

  1. Note the working fund transfer to the reserve.

 

The Licensing Manager discussed how the fees and charges had been determined and outlined the proposals for the coming year.

 

A Member of the Committee raised concerns regarding some of the proposed fees and the Licensing Manager explained further how these fees had been determined.

 

Following further discussions, Members commended the work of Licensing Services and welcomed the report.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers with effect from 1 May 2019.

 

  1. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles with effect from 1 May 2019.

 

 

  1. Approved the introduction of a two years badge for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers.

 

Noted the working fund transfer to the reserve.

10.

Update – Government Response to the Report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing pdf icon PDF 233 KB

[To note the content of the report]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

  1. Note the content of the report.

 

  1. Note that the Licensing Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of Licensing, will respond to the consultation on behalf of the Licensing Authority.

 

The Licensing Manager discussed the Government response in further detail and responded to questions asked.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Noted the content of the report.

 

Noted that the Licensing Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of Licensing, will respond to the consultation on behalf of the Licensing Authority.

11.

Proposed Amendments to Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Proprietors and Drivers and Private Hire Vehicle operators pdf icon PDF 151 KB

[To approve the revised conditions]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

  1. Agree and approve the proposed amendments to the Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Proprietors and Drivers and Private Hire Vehicle Operators.

 

  1. Agree and approve that the Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Proprietors and Drivers and Private Hire Vehicle Operators become effective from 1 April 2019.

 

  1. Note that the proposed amendments have been subject to full external consultation.

 

The Licensing Manager went through the consultation responses with Members and discussed the guidelines in further detail and responded to questions asked.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Agreed and approve the proposed amendments to the Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Proprietors and Drivers and Private Hire Vehicle Operators.

 

  1. Agreed and approve that the Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Proprietors and Drivers and Private Hire Vehicle Operators become effective from 1 April 2019.

 

  1. Noted that the proposed amendments have been subject to full external consultation.

 

12.

Proposed amendments to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Conditions pdf icon PDF 273 KB

[To approve the revised conditions]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

  1. Approve the revised conditions for hackney carriage and private hire vehicle conditions.
  2. Note that the proposed amendments have been subject to consultation with the Trade at their group meetings.

 

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

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

 

  1. Approved the revised conditions for hackney carriage and private hire vehicle conditions.
  2. Noted that the proposed amendments have been subject to consultation with the Trade at their group meetings.

 

13.

Enforcement Update

[To receive a verbal update from William Humphries, Service Lead, Compliance]

Minutes:

William Humphries, Service Lead, Compliance, delivered a presentation outlining the roles and responsibilities of the Licensing Compliance Team.

 

He discussed local and national enforcement operations carried out by the team, and discussed other enforcement issues, including safeguarding and equalities.

 

Following the presentation, Members of the Committee sought clarification on points raised and the Section Leader, Licensing Manager and Chair of the Licensing Committee duly responded.

 

The Chair closed the final meeting of the Municipal Year by thanking the Vice-Chair, Members and officers for their support throughout the previous twelve months in relation to both the Licensing Committee and Sub-Committees.  The Committee reciprocated its thanks to the Chair.