Agenda and minutes

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of those parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information

RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as exempt on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information so designated in Appendix A to the report referred to in Minute No.49 under the terms of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(3) and on the grounds that several businesses are identified within the Appendix and open discussions on the contents could be prejudicial to their business interests. As a result, withholding the information within appendix A was considered to outweigh the public interest benefit of its release

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

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

No formal late items of business were added to the agenda; however the Committee was in receipt of the following documents which were tabled at the meeting

Agenda item 8 Petition for Equal Rights – a revised table showing cases where the use of powers to immediately suspend have been considered (minute 46 refers)

Agenda item 11 Leeds Festival – a copy of the most up to date schedule of amendments made to the Event Management Plan (minute 49 refers)

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13 -18 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.  Also to declare any other significant interests which the Member wishes to declare in the public interest, in accordance with paragraphs 19 -20 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bruce, Dunn, P Latty, Selby and Wilkinson

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 24^th July 2012

(Copy attached)

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held 24^th July 29012 be agreed as a correct record

To consider the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration setting out the Council’s draft response to the Law Commission consultation paper entitled “Reforming the law of Taxi and Private Hire Services”

(Report attached)

Further to minute 19 of the meeting held on 26^th June 2012 when Members had initially discussed the Law Commission consultation paper “Reforming the law of Taxi & Private Hire Services”, the Head of Licensing and Registration submitted a further report setting out the Council’s draft response for approval. The document reflected comments made by the Committee at the June meeting and had been sent to all Members of Council for further comments. Officers highlighted further revisions made since receipt of comments from Councillor R Lewis, Executive Member for Development & the Economy and from LCC Transport Policy Section.

The Committee noted that the Councils wish to retain local conditions was now reiterated throughout the document and further discussed the response to Provisional proposal 27 (private hire services would not be subject to standards except those related to safety…). Clarification was provided that if minimum standards were introduced without retaining the facility for additional local conditions, the ability for the Council to require English comprehension testing would be lost. The draft response aimed to reflect the Committee’s wish to retain English comprehension testing, in the interests of public safety, to ensure that passengers felt safe, that they were understood and charged appropriately. Members requested that the response to 27 should be amended to  reflect the clarification

RESOLVED – That the contents of the discussions be noted and that approval be given to the draft response as set out in appendix A of the report and, subject to the requested amendment being made to the response to 27, officers be authorised to submit the response on behalf of the Council to the Law Commission by the given deadline of 10 September 2012

To consider the joint report of the Chief Officer, Democratic & Central Services and the City Solicitor providing the Committee with information on how to respond to the issues raised in a petition submitted on behalf of Alpha Hire and Hackney Welfare Society.

(Report attached)

Further to minute 32a) of the meeting held 24 July 2012 when the Committee noted receipt of petition submitted by Mr Kabear Hussain of Alpha Hire and Hackney Welfare Society, the City Solicitor and the Chief Officer, Democratic & Central Services, submitted a joint report advising Members of the issues raised in the petition. In brief, the petition requested the Council consider passing an ‘Equality Resolution’ in respect of certain licensing decisions taken by officers of the Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Section under the terms of the delegated decision making process.

Members noted that the concern expressed in the petition was that the provision was being used incorrectly by Leeds City Council officers. Furthermore, the petition suggested that it should only be used where there had been a conviction, an ongoing police investigation or prosecution against the driver for an indictable only offence. Members also noted the contents of the letter accompanying the petition.

The report presented information to assist Members’ consideration of how to respond to the petition, particularly in respect of the provisions within Section 61(2B) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 which allows the suspension or revocation of a licence with immediate effect on public safety grounds. This statutory provision was inserted into the legislation by the Road Traffic Act 2006 effective from 17 March 2007. Officers highlighted the general reasons for revocation and suspension as set out in section 61 of the 1976 Act as being:

·  that the driver has since the grant of the licence been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence or

·  been convicted of an offence under or failed to comply with the provisions of the Act of 1847 or of the 1976 Act or

·  for any other reasonable cause.  Case Law has held that any other reasonable cause covers matters short of a conviction. 

  The new powers provided through the RTA 2006 were clarified as being:

• section 61 (2A) provides that suspension/revocation normally takes effect after 21days. A driver may make an appeal against the action during that time and continue to operate until that appeal is dealt with. The Notice that must always be given to the driver sets out the reasons for suspension
• section 61 (2B) provides that ‘if it appears that the interests of public safety require the suspension or revocation of the licence to have immediate effect, and the notice given to the driver under subsection (2) (a) of this section includes a statement that that is so and an explanation why, the suspension or revocation takes effect when the notice is given to the driver.’

A revised schedule showing the number (23) and nature of driver suspensions between 1 January and 16 August 2012 was tabled at the meeting. Officers addressed the specific wording in the resolution proposed by Mr Hussain, particularly the term “indictable only offence” and the impact the resolution would have, if adopted, on reducing the powers used by the authority to address public safety issues.

Officers clarified that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To consider the report of the City Solicitor advising the Committee of the changes made to the Code of Practice for the Determination of Licensing Matters made by the Standards and Conduct Committee following the introduction of the new standards regime on 1 July 2012

(Report attached)

The Committee considered the report of the City Solicitor on changes made to the Code of Practice for the Determination of Licensing Matters made by the Standards and Conduct Committee following the introduction of the new standards regime on 1 July 2012.  The revised code was attached as Appendix 1 to the report and the Licensing Committee was requested to review the Code of Practice to ensure it remained fit for purpose and to report back to the next available meeting of the Standards and Conduct Committee.

Officers highlighted the main revisions as being the removal of the reference to personal prejudice or interest and the inclusion of reference to disclosable pecuniary interest instead; the inclusion of the new definition of predetermination and revisions to the section relating to the monitoring of the Code. Officers also highlighted that it would be beneficial to maintain the current consistency of approach with the Code of Practice for the determination of Planning Matters and any comments made by the Committee would be fed into discussions on the planning code.

Members, in their review of the Code, considered that the Code should be retained as part of the Council’s conduct framework as it had particular value in regulating the Committees’ decision making process

RESOLVED –

a)  To note that no further amendments to the Code of Practice were required by the Licensing Committee

b)  To note the contents of the revised Code of Practice for the determination of Licensing Matters which is now in force

c)  To note that officers would now report the Committees’ continued support of the Code to the Standards and Conduct Committee meeting scheduled for October 2012

To consider the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration providing an update to the activities of the Entertainment Licensing Sections’ (ELS) Liaison and Enforcement Team who work with premises and partner agencies to promote the licensing objectives and licence compliance

(Report attached)

The Head of Licensing and Registration submitted a report providing an overview of the activities undertaken by the Entertainment Licensing Liaison and Enforcement Team during the second quarter of 2012.

The report detailed formal operations undertaken by the Team and Members discussed the following matters with the Principal Liaison & Enforcement Officer:

Metal theft – the work undertaken to deter unlicensed scrap metal dealers. The suggestion that scrap metal business premises and storage facilities should be monitored following the issue of a licence was noted and officers agreed to further consider this in conjunction with LCC Planning Services

Proceeds of Crime – the successful outcome of a joint operation undertaken with West Yorkshire Trading Standards and Kirklees POCA Team to pursue and prosecute an individual trading an unlicensed sex shop and counterfeit dvds from a domestic property and the assets seized under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act  amounting to £55,000 and £5,000 costs awarded to Leeds City Council

Grassroots – the value of sharing information at a strategic level at the newly established partner meetings, which now included the Leeds NHS Trust. It was important to note that Accident & Emergency statistics shared with LCC and WYP enabled the agencies and responsible authorities to more accurately identify hotspots for violent incidents in the city centre and target resources effectively

Pubwatch – officers reported the Pubwatch Website was due to be officially launched on 16^th August 2012 which would enable licensees and agencies to share and highlight information for the licensed trade

Temporary Event Notices – one Member raised a concern relating to the TEN application process, citing a recent case for reference, and the nature of communications sent to an applicant. Officers agreed that this individual case would be discussed directly with the Councillor and a further report would be brought to Committee in due course as the basis for discussion on the TEN application process.

The Committee welcomed the information contained within the presentation and expressed their thanks and support for the work undertaken by the Enforcement Team. 

RESOLVED - That the contents of the report be noted and

a)  To note that a further report on the work of the Liaison & Enforcement Team covering the period 1 July to 31 December 2012 will be presented at an appropriate Committee meeting

b)  To note that the requested report on the Temporary Event Notice process will be presented in due course. 

To consider the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration advising Members of the progress of the multi agency meetings and the Event  Management Plan for the Leeds Festival 2012

(Report attached)

Please Note : Appendix 2 of the report is designated exempt under Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (3)

The Head of Licensing and Registration submitted a report on the progress of the multi agency meetings and the Event Management Plan for the Leeds Festival 2012, scheduled to be held within the grounds of Bramham Park from Friday 24 August to Sunday 26 August 2012.

Officers presented an update on the outcome of the most recent multi agency meeting held on 9 August 2012, particularly in respect of the impact of likely attendance figures on camping; car parking and vehicular access arrangements. A schedule of further revisions made to the Event Management Plan was tabled at the meeting.

RESOLVED –

a)  That authority be delegated to the Head of Licensing and Registration to approve the Event Management Plan prior to the start of the event; and

b)   That authority be delegated to the Head of Licensing and Registration to approve any minor amendments to the Event Management Plan, as necessary, prior to the start of the event.

c)  To note that, should the Event Management Plan be subject to amendment without the relevant agency consent, or be of a nature which officers consider may impact on the licensing objectives, then the Event Management Plan will be brought back before the Licensing Committee prior to the event taking place.

To note the contents of the Licensing Work Programme

RESOLVED – That the contents of the Licensing Work Programme, with the additions made at this meeting, be noted

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 11^th September 2012 at 10:00 am

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as 11^th September 2012