Agenda and minutes

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

An apology for absence was submitted by Councillor J Illingworth.  Notification had been received that Councillor J Pryor was to substitute for Councillor J Illingworth.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th September 2016.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th September 2016 be approved as a correct record.

To receive a report from the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support presenting an overview of actions within Taxi and Private Hire Licensing and Entertainment Licensing in relation to safeguarding and the night time economy.

The report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support made reference to the Board’s initial interest in undertaking further Scrutiny into the role of the Council and its partners in addressing safeguarding issues linked to the city’s night time economy.  In doing so, particular attention was given to those service areas that fall within the responsibility of the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) and the remit of the Board.  As such, the following information was appended to the report:

·  Appendix A – a report from the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) on Safeguarding in Taxi and Private Hire Licensing – 12 months review of progress;

·  Appendix B – a report from the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) on entertainment licensing’s contribution to the night time economy.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  James Rogers, Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities)

·  Councillor James Lewis, Executive Board Member for Resources and Strategy

·  John Mulcahy, Head of Elections, Licensing and Registration

·  Des Broster, Service Head, Taxi & Private Hire Licensing

·  Nicola Raper, Service Head, Entertainment Licensing

The following key areas were discussed by the Board in relation to the role of Taxi & Private Hire Licensing:

Ø  The significant progress made on the implementation of the annual DBS policy;

Ø  The work being undertaken across the West Yorkshire Authorities towards attaining common standards and working in a cohesive way in terms of policy, decision making and enforcement capability.

Ø  The steady progress made in delivering the compulsory Safeguarding Awareness training for all existing licence holders, escorts and permit holders (with 71 of the 187 contracted sessions completed by 31^st August 2016 which equates to 39% of the licence base).  Particular emphasis was placed on ensuring that such training was being delivered in a comprehensive and effective manner;

Ø  The ongoing work to create efficiencies within the police disclosure process, including the appointment of a Research Officer to work with other West Yorkshire Authorities to reach an information sharing agreement that will enable the service to undertake a much closer scrutiny of all licensing databases and identify risks whilst still observing the Data Protection thresholds of the West Yorkshire Police.

Ø  Implications surrounding the introduction of the De-regulation Act in October 2015 and also the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Tourism Action Plan. It was noted that the service would be reporting on these in more detail to the Council’s Licensing Committee for further consideration;

Ø  The ongoing work through the Combined Authority approach aimed at ensuring that other local authorities in West Yorkshire ensure that their licensing enforcement capability has sufficient resources and skills to sustain the very necessary controls required within the licensing environment.  The Board requested to be kept informed of progress in this regard.

Ø  The work undertaken with the UK Border Agency in relation to identifying common types of forgery linked to identity documents;

Ø  The longstanding issues linked to the operation of ‘out of town’ Hackney Carriages and the introduction of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To receive a report from the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support presenting the formal response to the recommendations arising from the Scrutiny Inquiry into the development of Community Hubs.

The report of the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support presented the formal response to the Board’s earlier Inquiry into the development of Community Hubs.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  James Rogers, Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities)

·  Lee Hemsworth, Chief Officer Customer Access

The key issues raised were as follows:

·  Further clarity was sought regarding timescales for developing a clear assessment and delivery model linked to the Community Hub ‘Mobile’ type provision.  It was anticipated that this would be in place by the end of this financial year.

·  It was noted that any wider issues surrounding the general roll out of the Community Hub programme would be picked up as part of the Board’s November meeting.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That a further recommendation tracking report is scheduled within the next 6 months.

(Councillor M Robinson left the meeting at 11.20 am during the consideration of this item)

To consider the Board’s forthcoming work schedule.

The report of the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support invited Members to consider the Board’s work schedule for the municipal year.

The Chair made particular reference to the Board’s forthcoming working group meeting on 18^th October 2016 in relation to the Board’s Inquiry into the revised Council Tax Support Scheme.

RESOLVED – That the work schedule be noted.

Monday, 7^th November 2016 at 10 am (Pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.30 am)

Monday, 7^th November 2016 at 10 am (Pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.30 am)

(The meeting concluded at 11.35 am)