To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Carole Allaway Martin, Judy Davis, Peter Ede and Maria Edey.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business.

No items of urgent business were considered at this meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest in any matter to be discussed at the meeting.  Members and officers are requested to identify the nature of the interest and indicate whether it is personal or prejudicial.

No declarations of interest were made at this meeting.

To consider report E.42, Licence Fees 2012/2013.

Frank Russell, Senior Licensing Officer, presented report E.42, including the council’s licence fee proposals, 2012 to 2013. Outlining each of the proposals in detail, he informed members of several successful challenges that had been made against some local authorities regarding the level at which the licence fees for that council had been set. The licensing officer reassured the committee that, having recently attended an Institute of Licensing seminar to clarify the position, the fees that had been set by this council were lawful and had been advertised correctly. In addition, the council had also analysed the time spent on administration, inspection and enforcement, to ensure that the costs involved were charged at an appropriate rate.

The licensing officer said that, under the European Services Directive, the cost of taking enforcement action would not be included in the application fee, but charged as a separate cost. Furthermore, the directive clearly stated that local authorities should not use license fees as a method of raising money, but as a means of recovering any costs involved in delivering the service.

Members recalled that, in previous years, the fees set by this council had been reviewed prior to the new financial year and increased at the rate of inflation. This year, however, it was proposed to set the fees in consultation with finance officers and in deference to the cabinet decision to freeze council fees and charges.

Elaborating on some of the proposals, the licensing officer said that it was the council’s intention to provide a cost neutral service. It was also the council’s intention to introduce new fees for those licenses where existing fees had failed to reflect the true cost of the service in administering or enforcing license fees.

Responding to a question from Councillor Lynn Sterry, the Licensing Officer said that the permitted number of dogs before having to apply for a dog breeding licence was six dogs.

Chairman of the Committee, Councillor Len Lawton, said that, in recognition of the hardships encountered by local businesses following the economic downturn, it was a good idea to introduce a cost neutral system for the setting of council license fees. With this in mind, Councillor Marion Winship moved the recommendation and Councillor Ian Whitburn seconded the motion. The committee noted the report and,

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RESOLVED to adopt the licence fees as specified in Annex A of report E.42

Heather Lucas Senior Environmental Protection and Licensing Officer to give an update on the work carried out by the Licensing Team in 2011.

Heather Lucas, Senior Environmental Protection and Licensing Officer, presented report E.44 and gave a detailed summary on the work of the Licensing Team during the past year. Elaborating on the key sections of the report, the licensing officer responded to questions and said that: -

a)     When taking into consideration the costs involved in policing and controlling the supply of alcohol between midnight and 6 am, the council could, if it deemed it necessary, impose a light night levy on the district. To consume alcohol in the street, however, is a recognised offence and considered under separate legislation.

b)     The licensing officer said that there were only a few establishments within the district that served alcohol after midnight. She said that the council did not consider this matter to be a high level problem and had elected not to impose a late night levy due to the significant amount of work involved and the need for every single establishment to be levied. 

c)      Members were advised that the licensing authority had a good working relationship with the police and that any anti-social behaviour was dealt with by using combined resources. The Licensing Officer said that to impose an early morning restriction order might be a more effective way of dealing with alcohol related issues and/or anti social behaviour.

d)     Councillor Andrew Gardiner expressed concerns about possible links between anti-social behaviour and the Newent Onion Fayre. In response to the concerns, the licensing officer informed the committee that it was only necessary for the organiser to obtain a licence for the duration of the event. Any issues arising after this time, was the specific responsibility of the individual proprietor, who would be encouraged to consider providing security at their premises for this annual occurrence.

e)     Councillor Bernie O’Neill referred to the progressively serious issue of metal theft and enquired what measures were being undertaken to control such matters. The committee welcomed an update from Environmental Protection and Licensing Team Leader, Haydn Brookes, who informed members that the council had been recognised as a leading authority in addressing this problem. He said that, owing to an increased number of metal thefts in the district, the environmental services section of the team had engaged with the police in developing a code of practice to encourage scrap dealers to keep accurate records of the customer’s name, address, vehicle registration number and details of the purchased metal. The code also recommended scrap dealers to install CCTV at their scrap yards.  In addition to working with the police on operating a series of roadside checks of vehicles carrying scrap metal, the lead officer for this assignment had also addressed the Institute of Licensing Officer’s Regional meeting and the Local Government Association, to express concerns about the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 being so out of date. In response to the concerns, the council had lobbied central government to undertake a review of current legislation and to remunerate local councils for any work embarked on to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.