To receive apologies for absence

15.1    Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Roy Aldcroft, Elliott Lynch, Nigel Lumby, Kevin Pardy, Chris Schofield and Alex Wagner.

15.2    Councillor Mary Davies substituted for Councillor Wagner

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held n 9 July 2021 as a true record

16.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2021 had been circulated.

            RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Strategic Licencing Committee held on 9 July 2021 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman

To receive any public questions or petitions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  The deadline for this meeting is 10.00am on Monday 4 October 2021

17.1    There were no questions.

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

18.1    Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

18.2    There were no declarations made

Report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager is attached.

Contact: Mandy Beever (01743 251702)

19.1    Members received the report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager which set out the proposed updated Gambling Act 2005 – Policy Statement.

19.2    In response to a question the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager confirmed that comments made by Oswestry Town Council after the closing date for submissions had been considered as part of the consultation.

19.3    RESOLVED:

a.    That the Committee considers the representations received following the formal consultation on the draft Gambling Policy Statement and agrees the officers’ comments in Appendix 1 in response to the comments made and recommends to the Cabinet that the policy statement is published and advertised by the Head of Trading Standards and Licensing in accordance with the provisions of the Act and that the policy statement will take effect from 31 January 2022.

b.    That the Committee delegates to the Head of Trading Standards and Licensing, in consultation with the Chair of the Strategic Licensing Committee, the authority to amend any typographical errors and/or administrative inconsistencies in the proposed Gambling Policy Statement as set out in Appendix 1 prior to the policy statement being presented to the Cabinet for final approval

Report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager is attached.

Contact: Mandy Beever (01743 251702)

20.1    Members received the report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager which set out revised fees for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

20.2    The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised Members that the report set out proposed fees and charges for the financial year April 2022 – March 2023 and that if approved they would go forward to Cabinet and Council for approval prior to implementation and reminded the meeting that some fees were set by law and that there were some licenced activities for which no fee could be charged all of which were listed in the report.

20.3    The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised the meeting that the process for fees applicable to hackney carriage, private hire vehicle and operator licences was different in that a separate consultation was required and that if objections were received it may delay the implementation of the new fees, but if there were no objections fees would be implemented the day after the end of the consultation.

20.4    In response to a question regarding how the deficit in 2020/21 compared with previous years the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that it was difficult to compare as different licences ran for different lengths of time, so renewals varied.  She added that there would be a knock-on effect from the pandemic as some activity had ceased. 

20.5    In response to a question regarding whether any work was being done to get statutory fees raised to a realistic level the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager confirmed that Government had said that they would look at this and that the Council had done the necessary modelling work to set those fees when allowed.

20.6    A Member asked what was done to notify businesses of the proposed increases in fees.  The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that all businesses were advised of fees by email.  She outlined measures that had been taken to help businesses through the pandemic.

20.7    A Member asked whether any consideration have been given to offering a discount to those applying for a private hire or hackney carriage vehicle licence if the vehicle was electric or hybrid.  The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that as part of the policy all vehicles had to achieve “Euro 5” levels for emissions which was a very high level, and that there were no plans to introduce a discount but that the length of licence for an electric car was longer which did provide an element of saving.

20.8    A Member asked what was being done to reduce costs to limit increases in fees.  The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that work had been done to review all previous models and to look at all elements of the process.  She advised that there was currently a procurement process being undertaken to secure a new IT system which would allow more “self-service” and online application service which would reduce officer time and cost. 

20.9    Members thanked the Transactional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

Report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager is attached.

Contact: Mandy Beever (01743 251702)

21.1    Members received the report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager that set out revised procedures for the fit and proper person register required under The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020

21.2    The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised the meeting that since the Committee decision made at the last meeting the guidance from Government had changed and that the recommendations made would need amending to ensure successful applicants are included in the register for a period not exceeding five years and to remove the requirement for a Fit and Proper Person Determination Policy.

21.3    A Member expressed concern that a fee could not be charged for this work. The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that the law governing the licencing of caravan park was quite outdated and that government was updating this slowly.  She added that a piece of work was currently being planned to investigate the level of fees for those parts of caravan licencing where charging was allowed but that this work had been delayed by the pandemic.

21.4    RESOLVED:

a.    That the delegation that was previously agreed on 9 July 2021 be extended to allow all applications made under The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 (‘the Regulations’) for a person to be included in the register of fit and proper persons to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations and all successful applicants to be placed on the register for a period not exceeding five years and that no charge is made in respect of these applications.  

b.    That a Fit and Proper Person Determination Policy (‘Determination Policy’) is not required and that such a Policy does not need to be prepared for consultation or implemented.

Report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager is attached.

Contact: Mandy Beever (01743 251702)

22.1    Members received the report of the Transactional and Licensing Team Manager which set out details of the licences issued, variations that have been made and the enforcement action undertaken between 1 June 2021 and the 31 August 2021 and a summary of applications considered by the Committee.

22.2    The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager reminded members that this was a report that was brought to every meeting and that it set out the levels and types of work that officers had carried out over the period since the last meeting.

22.3    A Member asked how the levels of work compared to previous quarters.  The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager advised that the period covered in the report coincided with the end of lockdown, so the team had been busier than in previous quarters but not as busy as during the pre-pandemic period. 

22.4    A Member requested that the length of time the licence was granted for was included in the appendices as this would be useful in assessing workloads.  The Transactional and Licensing Team Manager agreed to do this.

22.5    RESOLVED

That Members note the position as set out in the report

To note that the next meeting of the Strategic Licensing Committee will be held on Wednesday8 December 2021 at 10.00am

23.1    Members noted that the next meeting of the Strategic Licencing Committee would be held on Wednesday 8 December 2021 at 10.00am