Licensing Committee – 23 March 2017

 

Chairman:    Councillor K Vickers
Venue:         Function Room 1, Civic Centre, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe
Time:           10.00 am

AGENDA

1.       Substitutions.

2.       Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and personal or personal and prejudicial interests, and significant contact with applicants, objectors or third parties (lobbying), if any.

3.       To take the minutes of the meeting of this committee held on 26 January 2017, as a correct record and authorise the Chairman to sign.

4.       Sub-Committee Proceedings – To receive and where necessary confirm the minutes of the meeting of the following sub-committees-

(i)      Licensing (Miscellaneous) Sub-Committee held on 19 January, 23 February and 9 March 2017.
(ii)     Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee held on 24 January, 25 January and 21 February 2017.

5.       Animal Welfare Charter 2017

6.       Licensing Policy – Hackney Carriage and Private Hire

7.       Setting a Fees Policy for Licensing of Park Home Sites

8.       The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014

9.       Immigration Act 2016 – Impact of the Act on the Licensing Function

10.     Policing and Crime Act 2017 – Impact of the Act on the Licensing Function

11.     Any other items that the chairman decides are urgent by reason of special circumstances that must be specified.

MINUTES

PRESENT: –  Councillor K Vickers in the chair.

Councillors Ali, Allcock, Armitage, Clark, Ellerby, Glover, Kataria, Mumby-Croft, Ogg, Oldfield, Rowson, C Sherwood, Wells and Wilson.

The committee met at the Civic Centre, Scunthorpe.

1401   LONDON ATTACK – WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 – As a mark of respect for the victims of the London attack on Wednesday 22 March 2017, the Committee observed a minutes silence.

1402   DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS, PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AND SIGNIFICANT CONTACT WITH APPLICANTS, OBJECTORS OR THIRD PARTIES (LOBBYING) – The following members declared pecuniary interests –

Member

Nature of Interest

Councillor Ali Taxi Licence Holder
Councillor Kataria Taxi Licence holder

 

The following members declared personal interests –

Member

Nature of Interest

Councillor Ali Taxi Licence Holder
Councillor Armitage Personal Licence Holder
Councillor Kataria Taxi Licence holder
Councillor Oldfield Personal Licence Holder

 

1403   MINUTES – Resolved – That the minutes of the proceedings of thiscommittee held on 26 January 2017, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and signed by the chairman.

1404   SUB-COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGSResolved – That the minutes of the meetings of the Licensing (Miscellaneous) Sub-Committee held on 19 January, 23 February and 9 March 2017 be received.

1405   SUB-COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGSResolved – That the minutes of the meetings of the Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee held on 24 January, 25 January and 21 February 2017 be received.

1406   (28)    ANIMAL WELFARE CHARTER 2017 – The Director of Places submitted a report that sought approval to review the Animal Welfare Charter.

The committee was informed that the council was not statutorily obliged to adopt an Animal Welfare Charter, however it did adopt a Charter in 1996.  The Charter ensured that the local community understood the importance of providing a safe environment, free from unnecessary suffering, for all animals within the scope of the council.

The implementation of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 had strengthened animal welfare law and was considered to be the most important development in animal protection law for a century.  The Act aimed to reduce animal cruelty and promote animal welfare by enabling enforcers to take preventative action where those who are considered responsible for animals had failed to fulfil their duty of care.  It also aimed to simplify legislation for both animal keepers and enforcers by bringing together and modernising previous outdated legislation.

Therefore, as a result of the Animal Welfare Act, the council’s Charter required a review.

The new Charter would cover every aspect of animal welfare legislation enforced by the Licensing Division, areas such as Dog Breeding Establishments and Pet Shops.

The new Charter would also cover Trading Standards and Environmental Health legislation, areas such as the exhibition or display of animals on any council land or the promotion of sensible dog ownership.  The Charter would be an invaluable, up to date, working document, which would embrace the changes to animal welfare legislation.

Resolved – That the Animal Welfare Charter review be approved.

(Councillors Ali and Kataria, having declared a pecuniary interest, left the meeting prior to consideration of the following item – Minute 1407 refers)

1407   (29)    LICENSING POLICY – HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE – The Director of Places submitted the revised draft of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy for members’ consideration.

North Lincolnshire Council had a duty to protect the public and was authorised to carry out the statutory function of issuing licences in relation to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers, Vehicles and Operators.

These licences were issued in accordance with the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

There was no legal requirement for the policy; however it was considered to be good practice to have such a policy.  A policy had been in place since January 2011 and was last reviewed in November 2015.

Since the current policy was approved by this committee, it had been significantly redrafted.

As a result of the revisions to the policy, it was now necessary to consult all interested parties.

Resolved – (a) That the draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy be approved, and (b) that consultation be undertaken with all interested parties, as per Option 2 of the report.

(Councillors Ali and Kataria returned to the meeting)

1408   (30)    SETTING A FEES POLICY FOR LICENSING OF PARK HOME SITES – The Director of Places submitted a report that sought to establish a fees policy for the licensing of Park Home Sites.

The Caravan Site and Control of Development Act 1960 (CSCDA60) introduced a licensing system to regulate the establishment and operation of caravan sites.  This Act had remained unchanged for over 50 years.

The licence had conditions attached to it.  There were generally three types of caravan site covered by the Act, namely:-

  • Park Home (residential),
  • Static Holiday,
  • Holiday/Touring,

Each type of site had relevant conditions attached.

In 2014, The Mobile Homes Act 2013 (MHA13) came into force.  The changes introduced by the MHA13 included the ability to charge fees for all the licensing functions related to Park Home or residential sites.  Within North Lincolnshire, there were seven park home sites with over 500 pitches in total.  Each had a site licence with conditions attached.

To be able to charge a fee, the council must publish a fees policy on its web site, which must be transparent, reasonable and consistent across sties.  Fees could be charged for the following activities –

  • Granting a licence,
  • Transferring a licence,
  • Annual licensing inspection, including monitoring of the licence conditions,
  • Fees for altering site conditions,
  • Fees for publishing the site rules.

The published guidance set out advice on matters that could or could not be taken into account in setting fees and the fee structure along with how the fees could be calculated.  Subject to legal restrictions, both the level of fees and how they were charged were at the council’s discretion but they should fairly cover the costs incurred by licensing.  Enforcement costs could not be reflected in the fee structure.

There were three options for setting the annual licence fee, namely:-

  • A fee based on a price per unit.
  • A fee based on the banding of sites related to their size/number of units on site.
  • A fee based on a risk rating that took into account the size of the site, the level of compliance and the confidence in the site management.

Resolved – (a) That the development of a fees policy for all aspects of the licensing of Park Home Sites, including the annual inspection and compliance visit be approved in principle, and (b) that the draft policy, including the level of fees, be considered by the committee prior to its publication and consultation.

1409   (31)    THE OPENNESS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT BODIES REGULATIONS 2014 – The Director of Places submitted a report that advised the committee of all decisions taken by authorised officers of the Licensing Division, in relation to licences, registrations, permits and consents, under the scheme of delegation.

In August 2014 the Government introduced regulations which required the publication of decisions by officers for non-executive functions where were for authorisation, a licence or where it affected the rights of an individual.
The adoption of the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations in August 2014 changed the requirements placed on local authorities in regard to reporting decisions taken under delegated authority by Officers.

Prior to the new regulations, Officers were required only to produce a report on decisions taken under authority delegated to them under the Authority’s Executive powers.

The requirement had now been extended to all decisions, whether made by an officer or on behalf of another committee/sub-committee or joint committee, in which the council participated.  This applied where the decision had been delegated to an officer, either under a specific delegation or under a general authorisation.

A summary of all decisions made by officers for licences, registrations, permits and consents issued between 4 January 2016 and 19 February 2017 was attached at Appendix 1 of the report.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

1410   (32)    IMMIGRATION ACT 2016 – IMPACT OF THE ACT ON THE LICENSING FUNCTION – The Director of Places submitted a report that informed the committee of the changes to the licensing function introduced by the Immigration Act 2016.

The Immigration Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016.

The Act aimed to: “…make provision about the law on immigration and asylum; to make provision about access to services, facilities, licences and work by reference to immigration status…”.

The law relating to the licensing of alcohol is detailed in Schedule 4 of the Act and law in relation to taxis was in Schedule 5.

The changes proposed in Schedule 4 in the Act were contained in Table 1 of the report.

The changes proposed in Schedule 5 in the Act state that the council must be satisfied that a person had the right to work in the UK before a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle Drivers Licence or Operators Licence was issued.  The council could not issue a licence for a period longer than such an entitlement. The licences would lapse if the holder ceased to be entitled to work in the UK.

The Act also made it a requirement that public sector workers must speak fluent English.  This was already a requirement of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers within the current Policy.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

1411   (33)    POLICING AND CRIME ACT 2017 – IMPACT OF THE ACT ON THE LICENSING FUNCTION – The Director of Places submitted a report that informed the committee of the changes to the licensing function as a result of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017.

The Act mainly dealt with policing matters, with only minor changes to the Licensing Act 2003.

The changes in the Act that were applicable to the licensing function were contained in Table 1 of the report.

Resolved – That the report be noted.