Agenda item

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 updated in the Policy.

 

At 2.10 of the Report Details, the Team Manager highlighted there had been little change on the number of licensed premises, with 255 licensed premises in 2024 and 254 premises listed in 2019. The number of complaints against licensed premises had also been consistent, with a drop in complaints registered during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and an increase following lockdowns.

 

The Team Manager referred to 2.12 – 2.14 of the Report Details which detailed alcohol related crime. For 2023, there had been an overall increase across the district, but some areas had decreased. These were produced by the Derbyshire Constabulary in September 2023.

 

This increase could be seen across Derbyshire, with most local authorities having seen an increase in alcohol related crime during and/or after the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Team Manager noted this showed no correlation between alcohol related crime and the Policy, as more people were drinking alcohol at home.

 

Alcohol related mortality was higher across the district that the county and the country at large, but this was a complex issue and the Team Manager again reiterated this was not necessarily a result of the current Policy. However, it would still be important for BDC to attempt to control this issue.

 

The Team Manager highlighted 2.17 – 2.20 of the Report Details, which highlighted across the UK alcohol crime had increased since the COVID-19 Pandemic, and so too had GVA against women and girls.

 

The Report Details stated that research had shown that alcohol related health issues, alcohol related crime; and violence against women were all issues which were prevalent in the district. Whilst research did not highlight licenced premises as a direct causation of these issues, modifications had been made to the Policy with the aim of making a positive contribution to the reduction of these issues.

 

The Team Manager used the example of more robust measures for adult entertainment licensed premises; allowing these businesses to make GVA better and easier to report.

 

The Team Manager ended their presentation of the Report by again explaining the procedure to approve the 2024 Policy. The Committee would review the revised draft 2024 Policy Statement of Principles, under the Licensing Act 2003, with the intention to carry out a public consultation on a new statement. This would be published in 2024 and provide comments for consideration by the subsequent Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee, before all heading to Council for adoption.

 

The Chair opened the Committee floor for any questions towards the Environmental Health Team Manager (Licensing), the Licensing and Enforcement Officer who had coauthored the Report, and Councillor Anne Clarke, the Portfolio Holder for Environment who had approved the Report.

 

A Member had a question on why the current Policy had officially expired January 2024, but a review of the Policy was only now taking place in February 2024.

 

The Team Manager admitted the Policy did expire in January 2024, but due to a shortage of staff in the Licensing Team, which had subsequently been addressed, they could only apologise for the delay. For any other questions on the links between the Policy and Planning, the Team Manager referred the Committee to Page 53 of the Report, at 4.3, which stated the following:

 

            The Council had a local plan in place which would set out the vision and             strategy for planning and economic development in the district. Where it             was reasonable and necessary for the promotion of the licensing             objectives, the Council would aim to harmonise decisions where             overlapping issues of interest had been identified.

 

The reason for this addition was to clarify the link between the planning and

licensing regimes. With an added encouragement to harmonise planning and licensing decisions where the situation would dictate.

 

A Member sought clarity on the proposed 7.16 change in the Report which referred to counter terrorism:

 

Premises were expected to take all necessary steps to ensure a robust counter terrorism plan was in place and all staff were suitably trained to respond appropriately to terrorist incidents. The Authority expected premises, as a minimum, to:

 

·       Have a terrorism risk assessment in place;

·       Ensure all staff complete the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) e-learning training available at https://www.protectuk.police.uk/ within the last 12 months;

·       Ensure all staff were aware of the current terrorist threat level;

·       Ensure all staff were trained to respond appropriately to a terrorist incident;

·       Ensure robust procedures were in place to record and report suspicious activity;

·       Ensuring appropriate security staff are employed.

 

The Member asked if all licensed premises would need to have a terrorist threat response in place.

 

The Team Manger confirmed that, yes, guides would need to be in place to ensure overall good practice. Martin’s Law was not currently in place, but there would be obligations on certain premises for responding to a terrorist threat. This would not be imposed on all businesses, but it would be expected for larger businesses.

 

The Member followed up with asking whether this would be good practice for temporary events, whether temporary events would also need to cover such matters.

 

The Team Manager answered that temporary events would not be particularly obliged to do so, but larger events would likely have to regardless; it was a general rule to encourage such practice overall.

 

The Member noted that, with regards to Martin’s Law and Cumulative Impact Assessments, while understandable up to a certain number of people, the added cost would not make smaller events economically viable.

 

The Team Manager insisted it was not necessary for smaller events to carry out such an assessment. Some premises would already have security measures in place. For premises who already have Cumulative Impact Assessments, they have door staff for security anyway, but there was only one measure to mitigate a terrorist threat.

 

The Member noted the Report was very comprehensive.

 

The Chair referred the Committee to the Recommendations on Page 8 and a vote took place.

 

Moved by Councillor Emma Stevenson and Seconded by Councillor Robert Hiney-Saunders

RESOLVED that the draft Statement of Principles under the Licensing Act 2003, with the intention to carry out a public consultation on a new statement, be published in 2024 with provided comments for consideration by the Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee.