Agenda and minutes

The Chair advised that due to various technical glitches the meeting would not be broadcast live. The meeting would be recorded on Microsoft Teams and uploaded to the BCP website after the meeting.

The Chair referred to the recent sad passing of Councillor Brian Castle, Ward member for Muscliff and Strouden Park and a valued member of the Licensing Committee. The Committee paused for a period of silent reflection as a mark of respect.

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Farquar.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

There were no substitute members.

To elect a Vice Chair of the Licensing Committee for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2024/25.

Councillor Keddie was elected as Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee for the remainder of the Municipal Year.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 15 May 2024 and the Licensing Sub Committees held on 11 April, 5, 18 and 25 June, 3, 16, 31 July and 14 August 2024.

The exempt section of the minutes where relevant are also appended as restricted documents.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Licensing Committee on 15 May 2024 and the Licensing Sub-Committees held on 11 April, 5, 18, 25 June, 3, 16, 31 July and 14 August 2024, be signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

The Chair referred to the last paragraph in the Minutes of the Licensing Committee on 15 May 2024, which stated that ‘The Chair and Vice-Chair agreed to prepare a brief report to present to full Council to get a view on whether the Council felt a Sex Establishment Policy was necessary. The Licensing Manger advised that she would draft a report to include legislative background, which could form a starting point for discussions. The report would be presented to the Licensing Committee for endorsement prior to going to full Council’. The Chair advised that this action had not been completed due to there being no Vice-Chair in situ since the last meeting and would be addressed later in the meeting.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is midday on Friday 13 September 2024 [midday 3 clear working days before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a public statement is midday on Wednesday 18 September 2024 [midday the working day before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a petition is Thursday 5 September 2024 [10 working days before the meeting].

There were no public questions, statements, or petitions for this meeting.

The current Statement of Licensing Policy 2020-2025 is due for review.

Workshops have taken place with Members, officers and Dorset Police and a proposed draft policy has been produced for review and agreement by the Licensing Committee.

Once approved the draft policy will be subject to 12 weeks public consultation.

The Licensing Manager 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 Committee was advised that the current Statement of Licensing Policy 2020-2025 was due for review. Workshops had taken place with members, officers and Dorset Police and a proposed draft policy had been produced for review and agreement by the Licensing Committee. Once approved the draft policy would be subject to 12 weeks public consultation.

The Licensing Manager and Senior Licensing Officer led councillors through the ‘Table of Amendments Draft 2025’ at Appendix 2, which detailed the various amendments made in the revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2025-30.

The Committee considered the revised policy and no changes were made. Members expressed thanks to all officers and councillors that had been involved in preparing the revised.

Resolved that members agree the draft policy as presented and that the revised ‘Statement of Licensing Policy 2025-2030’ go out to public consultation.

Voting: unanimous

The Gambling Act 2005 requires all local authorities to review their Statement of Licensing Principles – Gambling Act Policy every three years.

National guidance to support and update the content of these policies is issued by the Gambling Commission on a regular basis. The BCP Council Policy is due for review by the end of 2024 for implementation from January 2025.

Currently there are several consultations ongoing within the Gambling Commission which will impact on national guidance issued to local authorities. The Gambling Commission has therefore suggested that rather than a full review of policies this year, local authorities can undertake a ‘refresh’ of the document and then review fully once national guidance has been issued, this is anticipated to be at some point during 2025.

The Senior Licensing Officer 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 Committee was advised that there were several consultations ongoing within the Gambling Commission which would impact on national guidance issued to local authorities. The Gambling Commission had therefore suggested that rather than a full review of policies this year, local authorities could undertake a ‘refresh’ of the document and then review fully once national guidance had been issued, this was anticipated to be during 2025.

The Chair highlighted that officers had worked in accordance with the guidance provided by the Gambling Commission and that the changes made were listed in section 11 of the report.

In response to a question raised, the Legal Adviser explained that the draft policy did not need to go out to public consultation at this stage, however, public consultation would take place following a full review in 2025.

RESOLVED that members agree the draft policy as presented and that the full policy be presented to full Council on 10 December 2024 for ratification.

Voting: Unanimous

To consider, amend as required and agree the Committee’s Forward Plan.

The Senior Licensing Officer took members through the Committee’s Forward Plan, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The following updates were provided:

• The Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver, Vehicle and Operator Policies would be brought to Licensing Committee on 12 December 2024. Several workshops had taken place, with one last workshop scheduled to consider the final draft policy.
• The Review of Scrap Metal Policy had been postponed until the December meeting. There was no legal requirement for a Scrap Metal Policy, however, it was good practice to have one in place.
• The Pleasure Boats and Boatpersons Licensing Policy consultation had been postponed until 2025 out of respect for the recent one-year anniversary of the Bournemouth Beach Tragedy.

The Clerk referred to the training sessions listed and confirmed that all training sessions had taken place as planned. Members were asked to contact the Clerk if they had any further training requirements.

The Committee revisited the process for formulating a Sex Establishment Venue (SEV) Policy, should the Council decide to have one. 

It was noted that the Licensing Manager had prepared a briefing paper on SEVs, which covered the legislative background and the effect of the Council having a SEV policy or not. The briefing paper would form a starting point for a discussion between the Licensing Manager, Chair and Vice Chair, as agreed at the last meeting of the Licensing Committee on 15 May 2024. It was highlighted that this meeting had not yet taken place as the Committee had been without a Vice-Chair since its last meeting.

The Legal Adviser explained that there was no legal requirement for the Council to have a SEV policy in place and that officer time and budget was a factor for consideration. It was likely that a barrister would need to be appointed by the Council to seek external advice due to the Council’s last SEV policy being successfully challenged in the High Court.

The Chair proposed that he and the Vice-Chair meet with the Licensing Manager to consider the briefing paper and that the paper then be shared via email to all members of the Licensing Committee. An informal training session could then be arranged before December 2024 for Licensing Committee members to discuss the briefing paper, which could be opened to all councillors. The Chair requested that this then be an item for consideration at the next meeting, which was on 12 December 2024. The Vice-Chair seconded the Chair’s proposal.

RESOLVED that

(I)                  The Chair and Vice-Chair meet with the Licensing Manager to discuss the briefing paper on SEV policy,

(II)                The briefing paper to be emailed to all members of the Licensing Committee,

(III)               An informal training session be arranged before December 2024 for all members of the Licensing Committee to discuss SEV policy, with an invite extended to all Councillors; and

The Forward Plan be updated to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.