Meeting documents
Licensing Act 2003 Committee
Monday, 16th June 2008
Present
Chair
AC Hodson
Councillors
IO Coates, WJ Davies, WA Duffey, SAM Niblock, Cherry Povall, DE Roberts, H Smith, R Wilkins, Mrs P M Williams
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - CHAIR'S OPENING REMARKS
- Minute 2 - DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
- Minute 3 - MINUTES
- Minute 4 - EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE LICENSING ACT 2003
- Minute 5 - APPOINTMENT OF THE LICENSING ACT 2003 SUB-COMMITTEES
Minute 1 - CHAIR'S OPENING REMARKS
Minute Text :
The Chair referred to the work undertaken on behalf of the Committee during the last municipal year by the former Chair, Councillor Bill Davies, and thanked him for this on behalf of the Committee. He also welcomed those new members of the Committee, particularly those who had recently been elected to the Council.
Minute 2 - DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Minute Text :
Members were asked to consider whether they had personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were. No such declarations were made.
Minute 3 - MINUTES
Minute Text :
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November, 2007, having been received or approved by the Council, be received.
Minute 4 - EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE LICENSING ACT 2003
Minute Text :
The Director of Regeneration provided an update in respect of an evaluation undertaken by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003. The Act came fully into force on 24 November 2005 and the first review of its impact was completed in March 2008. It brought together the findings of a number of projects in relation to the four licensing objectives and the wider aims of the reforms brought about by the Act. A summary of the findings included that -
• the overall volume of incidents of crime and disorder had remained stable and had not risen;
• there was no evidence of increases in overall alcohol consumption;
• there had been no serious adverse impact on the provision of live music;
• the transfer of alcohol licensing to local authorities was viewed as a success;
• the alcohol licensing system was more democratically accountable and residents were better able to influence licensing decisions;
• there was much better partnership working between local authorities, the police and other responsible authorities and licence holders;
• the new powers, including the ability to review licences, had been welcomed by local authorities and the police, and had been used to good effect;
• there was no clear picture of consistent improvements in respect of the dispersal from premises;
• the impact on overall crime levels appeared to be limited; and
• there was yet to be a discernable change in the diversity of evening and late night venues.
The main conclusion of the report was that “…people are using the freedoms but people are not sufficiently using the considerable powers granted by the Act to tackle problems and there is a need to rebalance action towards enforcement and crack down on irresponsible behaviour.” He reported that since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, Wirral had used the powers available and he provided details of thirteen premises that had been the subject of reviews of licences. He stated that it was a matter for Responsible Authorities to request that a review be undertaken and he indicated, significantly for enforcing agencies, that the report commented upon the need to improve enforcement and to address unreasonable behaviour, albeit without the provision of additional funding.
The Licensing Manager reported also, in relation to licensed premises, that there had been some advertising of poker nights at certain venues, which would be the subject of a further report to a future meeting. In response to comments from members, the Licensing Manager reported also upon a Cumulative Impact Assessment in relation to licensed premises in Hoylake. Evidence and comments had been sought from the Responsible Authorities by 4 July, which would form the basis of a report to a future meeting of the Committee.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 5 - APPOINTMENT OF THE LICENSING ACT 2003 SUB-COMMITTEES
Minute Text :
The Head of Legal and Member Services requested the Committee to appoint the Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee for 2008/2009.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That each Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee meeting be comprised of three members and one reserve member to be drawn from the pool of fifteen Committee members as follows:
Councillors -
SL Clarke
IO Coates
WJ Davies
WA Duffey
AC Hodson
DS Kirwan
S Niblock
I Povall
DE Roberts
JJ Salter
H Smith
A Taylor
C Teggin
R Wilkins
Mrs P M Williams
(2) That the Chairs of the Sub-Committees be appointed on the day of each meeting
(Minutes Published: 26 June 2008)