Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Goodwin, Mike Hurdle, Michael Illman, Nigel Manning, Marsha Moseley and David Wright.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must notparticipate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must also withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

There were no disclosures of interests.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 26 March 2018.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2018 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to approve the draft Gambling Act 2005 : Statement of Principles 2019 – 2022 for public consultation for a period of 12 weeks.

The Committee received a report on the Gambling Act 2005 : Statement of Principles 2019-2022.   It was recommended that the Statement of Principles was consulted on for a period of twelve weeks.  The Gambling Act required the Council as Licensing Authority to prepare and publish a Statement of Principles every three years.  The existing Statement of Principles was published in January 2016 and was due for renewal by January 2019.

The Committee noted that the amendments to the current Statement of Principles reflected the update in the Guidance published by the Gambling Commission (5^th Edition, September 2015).  The key changes to the Policy included a Local Area Profile for Guildford which increased the focus on risk and regulation, provided greater attention to local area risk and encouraged partnership and collaboration between stakeholders to mitigate risk.  The Statement also included the Council’s expectations around operators local risk assessments.  This would enable the Council to regulate local gambling more effectively by being able to hold operators to account if their assessment fell short of the Council’s expectations.

The consultation results would be reported back to the Licensing Committee at its meeting on 28 November 2018. 

Having considered the report, the Committee

RESOLVED:

To approve the draft Gambling Act 2005 : Statement of Principles 2019-2022 for public consultation over a twelve week period.

The Committee is asked to approve the draft Licensing of Sex Establishments Policy 2018-2021 for public consultation for a period of 6 weeks.

The Committee received a report on the licensing of sex establishments Policy 2018-2021which had been updated and recommended for public consultation for a of 6 week period.

Guildford Borough Council adopted the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2009 on 7 October 2014 with effect from 17 November 2014.  This Council also adopted a policy and standard conditions on 14 April 2015 to be applied when determining applications for sex establishment licences in the Borough.

There were no changes to the intent or direction of the policy only formatting amendments and updates to reflect the new corporate strategy which aimed to maintain a safe, diverse night-time economy and the Purple Flag Award.

The Committee having considered the report

RESOLVED

To approve the draft Licensing of Sex Establishments Policy 2018-2021 for public consultation over a 6 week period.

The Committee is asked to approve the Charity Collections Policy.

The Committee received a report on the Charity Collections Policy consultation results.  The report sought approval of the Charity Collections Policy with immediate effect. 

The Committee noted that it had approved the Charity Collections Policy for consultation at its meeting on 22 November 2017.  A twelve-week consultation was held between 29 January and 22 April 2018.  A total of twelve responses were received, eleven of which were from current/previous licence/permit holders. The responses were largely supportive or recommended minor amendments. 

The Committee agreed that adopting a Charity Collections Policy would provide guidance to applicants and a framework to enable the Council to make consistent and transparent decisions when determining applications for charity collections.

The Committee received clarification that Big Issue sellers were not covered under this legislation. 

Having considered the report, the Committee

RESOLVED

To approve the adoption of the Charity Collections Policy with immediate effect. 

The Committee noted its work programme for 2018-19.  The Committee also noted that it was likely the next scheduled Licensing Committee meeting on 25 July 2018 would be cancelled owing to a lack of business.  This was subject to approval by the Chairman of the Committee and the Lead Councillor for Licensing and Community Safety.