Agenda item - Review of Licensing Panel hearings arrangements

Report of the Executive Director - Governance, People & Resources (copy attached).

RESOLVED –

1.     That the Committee delegate 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 June 2022.

2.     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 and the need to ensure fair and transparent procedures in accordance with the Hearings Regulations 2005.

30.1    The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Governance, People and Resources, which set out the position in relation to the powers of the Licensing Committee to make its own arrangements in relation to the conduct of Licensing Panels convened under the Licensing Act 2003 (Licensing Panels).

30.2    The report proposed that Members review the current arrangements and delegate authority to the Executive lead officer after consultation with lead members to determine the future conduct of Licensing Panels until further review at the next committee in June 2022. The intention was to build flexibility into the arrangements and be able to respond to the latest public health and government advice.

30.3    The report was presented by the Lawyer. 

30.4    Councillor O’Quinn said that virtual Licensing Panels had worked well and had enabled a wider number of residents to participate.  She did not want to see hybrid panels, preferring for them to be either in-person or virtual. 

30.5    The Lawyer proposed that the decision regarding future arrangements be taken in consultation with the Lead Member.  The idea currently was to see how Members felt about current arrangements and continue this flexibility until the next Licensing Committee in June. 

30.6    Councillor Appich felt that virtual Licensing Panels had taken the fear away from residents and made them seem less formal.  Going forwards, she asked officers to bear in mind the lessons learnt from virtual hearings and build these into whichever method of meetings were implemented in the future. 

30.7    Councillor Theobald said virtual meetings had worked well and she preferred to keep to this arrangement in future. 

30.8    Councillor Simson preferred in-person panels, citing problems with technology as her reason for this.  She said that technical problems had caused extended meetings and she would want to see a return to in-person meetings when safe to do so.   She asked if webcasting would continue if they returned to in-person meetings.

30.9    The Lawyer said it was very possible that webcasting would continue if Licensing Panels took place in-person. 

30.10  Councillor Moonan said one of the main benefits of hybrid meetings had been accessibility – people with disabilities, parents with young children etc had been able to participate.  She felt that attending in person was a huge barrier and she wanted members of the public to have the option to attend in person or remotely. 

30.11  Councillor Davis said that virtual meetings empowered people because they could attend from the comfort of their own home.  Any system that enabled residents to get their points across was a good thing.   

30.12  Councillor O’Quinn agreed.  She said that virtual meetings had provided an opportunity for many more residents to engage with the licensing process.  Meetings in Hove Town Hall were intimidating for some residents and they preferred taking part from home in familiar surroundings.  It had worked extremely well.

30.13  Councillor Knight agreed that it was less intimidating to take part from home and said that  residents appreciated not having to travel to the Town Hall. She felt that “back to normal” was not progress and she would not aspire to going back to in-person panels.

RESOLVED –

1.      That the Committee delegate 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 June 2022.

2.      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 and the need to ensure fair and transparent procedures in accordance with the Hearings Regulations 2005.