Brighton & Hove City Council
Licensing Committee (Licensing Act 2003 Functions)
3.00pm 13 October 2022
Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall
MINUTES
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Present: Councillors John (Chair), Davis (Deputy Chair), Henry (Opposition Spokesperson), Simson (Group Spokesperson), Ebel, Knight, Moonan, O'Quinn, Pissaridou, Rainey, Phillips and Theobald
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Apologies: Councillors Fowler, Heley , and Lewry
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PART ONE
11 Procedural Business
(a) Declarations of Substitutes
1.1 Apologies from Councillors Heley, Fowler, and Lewry.
(b) Declarations of Interest
1.2 There were no declarations of interests in matters listed on the agenda.
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
1.3 The Committee considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any of the items listed on the agenda.
1.4 RESOLVED: That the press and public not be excluded.
12 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Licensing Committee (Licensing Act 2003 Functions) Meeting held on 23 June 2022 be agreed and signed as a correct record.
13 Chair's Communications
The Chair gave the following communications:
This committee only will see one paper, if called, but for the record there are no new reviews or appeals to report on and therefore these papers are not included.
I thank all Councillors for continuing to make themselves available for licensing panels, but would still call on colleagues who may not put themselves forward as much, to do so. As mentioned in our last committee, our Democratic and licensing Officers and I would still like to find a way to increase engagement from members, so we will be in touch to continue the conversation.
However, in the short term, when you receive an email request, please do let Democratic Services know either way if you are able to attend, so they can cross you off or not, as the case may be.
I also wanted to remind Members of the upcoming dates for Operation Marble, you should have all received an email from PC Kate Hancox inviting us to join Operation Marble on either or both dates in November and December, I note some members are yet to respond, so please do let Kate know either way.
We have also been invited to a round table to have informal discussion with Police Licensing in January, you should have all received a diary hold, where we will have an opportunity to discuss many things, including our marble tours. So I hope to see many of you there as we continue to enjoy positive relationships with our colleagues in the Police force.
14 Call Over
The following item was called:
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Item 17 |
Review of Licensing Panel Hearings Arrangements |
15 Public Involvement
There were none.
16 Member Involvement
There were none.
17 Review of Licensing Panel Arrangements
17.1 Rebecca Sidell introduced the report starting on page 13 of the Agenda.
17.2 Councillor Simson raised that the flexibility to hold meetings virtual or in person where possible is important, and suggested that Democratic Services do checks with members of the public beforehand to ensure they can attend.
17.3 Councillors O’Quinn and Theobald raised that the virtual system has worked well and made life easier for all attending Licensing Panels.
17.4 Councillor Knight raised that it is hard to do virtual Licensing Panels without paper copies of the Agenda.
RESOLVED:
1. That Committee notes the ongoing risk of fluctuation in relation to Covid
infection rates as well as the additional benefits of holding virtual meetings in
terms of enabling participation in the Licensing process and recommends
that Licensing Panels continue to meet virtually until March 2023. This does
not preclude holding a panel hearing in person where the individual
circumstances of an application may warrant it
2. That Committee delegates authority to the Executive Director - Governance, People & Resources after consultation with the Chair and group
spokespersons to determine arrangements for Licensing Panel hearings
until the next Licensing Committee in March 2023.
3. That the Committee recommends that in exercising this authority the above
officer takes into account all relevant factors including latest public health
and government guidance, the situation with other council meetings and the
need to ensure fair and transparent procedures in accordance with the
Hearings Regulations 2005.
18 Items Referred For Council
There were none.
The meeting concluded at Time Not Specified
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Signed
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Chair |
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