Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absences were received from Councillors Catherine Tite and Carol Wood.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance. The Chair then invited the Environmental Health Team Manager (Licensing) to present the Report.

The Team Manger briefly explained that under the Licencing Act 2003, Bolsover District Council was responsible for the administration and regulation of licences and certificates which authorised the following activities:

·       The sale and supply of alcohol;

·       The provision of regulated entertainment; and

·       The provision of late night refreshment.

The Team Manager referred to section 1.2 of the Report Details which outlined the four licensing objectives which were central to the regulatory regime created by the Act. These were:

·       The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

·       The Prevention of Public Nuisance

·       The Protection of Children from Harm

·       Public Safety

When discharging its functions, the Council, as a statutory Licensing Authority, would have to make decisions with a view to promoting the objectives listed above.

The Licensing Act 2003 imposed a statutory requirement upon the Council, to

prepare and publish a Statement of Principles (alternatively referred to as a

‘Policy’) every five years.

The Team Manger continued, explaining that in 2018 a review had been undertaken to ensure that the Council’s Policy was consistent with the statutory guidance and in a format common to neighbouring authorities to enable consistency and transparency.

The Licencing Act 2003 required the Council to republish its Policy every five years. The current Policy was published in 2019 and was now overdue for renewal.

The Policy established a set of controls which the Council considered appropriate for the effective management of licensable activities within the district. The Policy would act as a guide for Members, applicants, responsible authorities, and members of the public, and aimed to promote fair, consistent, and proportionate decision making.

The Team Manager noted that the initial review had made changes where there were local and national areas of concern. They then referred to Appendix 1 of the Report for a map showing the administrative boundaries of the Bolsover District and Appendix 2 of the Report, which presented the proposed amendments to the Statement of Principles of the Licensing Act 2003. This was done to increase clarity between the previous 2019 Policy and the current draft 2024 Policy.

Following approval at the subsequent Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee, a six-week consultation would then be carried out in line with the statutory requirements, the results of which would be presented back to the Committee for consideration, before a final draft was recommended to Council for adoption.

The main changes made were to promote better management, with the Team Manager using the example of trying to provide better reporting methods for GVA towards women and girls. This could be found at 2.18 – 2.20 of the Report Details. Another example used was to rework the current sales process of alcohol to inebriated individuals. This could be found at 2.12 – 2.16 of the Report Details.

The Team Manager highlighted other changes, such as decisions would now be delegated to Officers. Demographics had also been  ...  view the full minutes text for item CLI3-23/24