Issue - meetings

The report summarises the issues considered by the Constitution Review Working Group and sets out a series of recommendations arising from the Working Group for consideration by the Committee.

Any recommendations arising from the Committee shall be referred to full Council for adoption.

The Chairman of the Constitution Review Working Group and the Monitoring Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Chair of the Licensing Committee, Councillor J Butt, was also present and addressed the Committee at the invitation of the Chairman.

It was reported that the view of the Working Group was that a Committee of 15 Councillors was too large to consider specific licence applications.

Meetings involved hearing and consideration of complex, sensitive and often highly emotive issues around suitability of applicants for licences and such a large tribunal could be potentially unfairly daunting for an applicant. The Working Group had therefore supported expansion of the schedule of application types that could be considered by the Sub-Committee although with issues such as strategy and Licensing Policy and fees and charges remaining within the remit of the main Committee. A proposed revision of the Constitution was considered. It was noted that an effective process and framework of Sub-Committees was in place to deal with a range of applications. It was also noted that certain functions previously undertaken by the Committee, such as film classification, had, for some time, been delegated to Officers.

The Committee considered specialist Licensing law advice which confirmed that the Licensing Committee was legally capable of delegating the matters proposed to a Sub-Committee. However, there was a view that the Constitution Review Working Group should be asked to give some further additional consideration to circumstances in which it may be advisable for matters to be heard by the main Licensing Committee despite the delegation.

RESOLVED

That the Constitution Review Working Group be asked to give further additional consideration to circumstances in which it may be advisable for matters to be heard by the main Licensing Committee despite the delegation to a Sub-Committee.

Notwithstanding the above, however, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL

That the revised arrangements for the Licensing Committee within Part 3, Rule 3 of the BCP Council Constitution as set out in Appendix 1 of the report to the Audit and Governance Committee be approved and adopted.

Voting: Unanimous