Issue - meetings

Regulatory Services and the Licensing Team are responsible for undertaking enforcement activity across a wide range of public services.

The aim of these enforcement activities is to protect the safety, wellbeing, and the environment of all those who live, work and visit the area by ensuring the actions of businesses and individuals comply with the relevant legislation and Codes of Practice.

The Council is currently working to three legacy enforcement policies for Regulatory Services and Licensing. This new policy seeks to provide one policy for BCP Council.

The Enforcement Policy is recognised as an important document for regulators in meeting responsibilities under both statutory principles and guidance. The Enforcement Policy enables the authority to set out transparency in its activities and to ensure that enforcement activities are targeted only at cases where action is needed.

The Policy also helps both businesses and individuals to understand our objectives and methods for achieving compliance and the criteria we consider when deciding the most appropriate response to a breach of legislation.

Cabinet is asked to consider and approves the Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy

RESOLVED that the Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holders: Community Safety

                               Environment, Cleansing and Waste

Reason

The new Enforcement policy seeks to provide one policy for BCP Council.

The new Enforcement policy seeks to comply with the Legislation set out in Section 21 of The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 which requires that the Council in its activity for exercising a regulatory function has regard to the principles that regulatory activities should be carried out in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent and that regulatory activities should be targeted only at cases in which action is needed.

The Enforcement Policy also provides guidance to officers, businesses, and the public, on the range of options that are available to achieve compliance. It also explains the details about the methods used for achieving compliance and the criteria considered when deciding the most appropriate response to a breach of legislation.

The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'K' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Cabinet was advised that Regulatory Services and the Licensing Team are responsible for undertaking enforcement activity across a wide range of public services, and that the aim of these enforcement activities is to protect the safety, wellbeing, and the environment of all those who live, work and visit the area by ensuring the actions of businesses and individuals comply with the relevant legislation and Codes of Practice.

In relation to this Cabinet was informed that the Council is currently working to three legacy enforcement policies for Regulatory Services and Licensing, and that this new policy sought to provide one policy for BCP Council.

Cabinet was advised that the Enforcement Policy is recognised as an important document for regulators in meeting responsibilities under both statutory principles and guidance, and that the Enforcement Policy enables the authority to set out transparency in its activities and to ensure that enforcement activities are targeted only at cases where action is needed, and that further to this the Policy also helps both businesses and individuals to understand our objectives and methods for achieving compliance and the criteria we consider when deciding the most appropriate response to a breach of legislation.

Cabinet was asked to consider and approve the Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy.

In presenting the report the Portfolio Holder advised that Overview and Scrutiny had considered this paper at their recent Board meeting but hadn’t made any recommendations.

In relation to this the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board addressed the Cabinet advising that the Board had requested for a paper to be brought to Overview and Scrutiny on enforcement generally.

RESOLVED that the Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder(s): Community Safety

                               Environment, Cleansing and Waste

To consider the following Community Safety related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 14 April 2021:

·       Harmonisation of Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor May Haines, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety.

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Harmonisation of Regulatory Services and Licensing Enforcement Policy

The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder outlined the key issues within the report. The Portfolio Holder and Head of Safer Communities responded to comments and requests for clarification, details included:

• The purpose of this item was to harmonise policies of an operational nature and, as such, had not been presented to the Licensing Committee for consideration.
• This document had not significantly changed from what was included in the policies of the documents from the three predecessor councils, as all councils had to remain in line with a regulatory code anyway, meaning that all three policies had already been virtually identical in terms of what would be done in terms of enforcement and how, this merely consolidated it all into one document for BCP council.
• A separate piece of work was about to commence that would look at other areas of enforcement, including the issue of dog fouling.

The Chairman welcomed the new document and indeed the work to be undertaken in relation to other enforceable activities.