Agenda and minutes

This being the first meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee since the Authority’s Annual Meeting in May 2019, the Business Partner (Litigation/Licensing) opened the meeting and asked for nominations for the Chair of the Committee for 2019/2020.

Councillor Carol Bull nominated Councillor Clive Springett and this was duly seconded by Councillor Margaret Marks.

Councillor Roger Dicker nominated Councillor Michael Anderson and this was duly seconded by Councillor Don Waldron.

In light of there being two nominations for the position of Chair the Business Partner (Litigation/Licensing) explained that each nomination would be voted on in turn, with each Member of the Committee only being able to vote for one of the two, and the Member with the highest number of votes would be appointed as Chair.

Upon being put to the vote:

·         Councillor Clive Springett received 9 votes; and

·         Councillor Michael Anderson received 6 votes.

Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Clive Springett be elected as Chair for 2019/2020.

Councillor Springett then came forward to the top table and took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting. 

The Chair sought nominations for the Vice Chair of the Committee for 2019/2020.

Councillor Richard Rout nominated Councillor Rachel Hood and this was duly seconded by Councillor Patrick Chung.

Councillor Roger Dicker nominated Councillor Michael Anderson and this was duly seconded by Councillor Don Waldron.

In light of there being two nominations for the position of Vice Chair the Chair explained that each nomination would be voted on in turn, as before, and the Member with the highest number of votes would be appointed as Vice Chair.

Upon being put to the vote:

·         Councillor Rachel Hood received 9 votes; and

·         Councillor Michael Anderson received 6 votes.

Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Rachel Hood be elected as Vice Chair for 2019/2020.

Councillor Hood then came forward to the top table and took her position as Vice Chair. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger.

Any Member who is substituting for another Member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant absent Member.

Councillor Ann Williamson attended the meeting as substitute for Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger.

Members of the public who live or work in the District are welcome to speak and may ask one question or make a statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.

There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s discretion.

There were no questions/statements from members of the public. 

Report No: LIC/WS/19/001

The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory Services) firstly introduced Committee Members to the newly appointed West Suffolk staff members present; Service Manager (Environmental Health) and Licensing Team Leader.

The report before the Committee sought to inform Members of their proposed programme of work over the next year and how it was anticipated the Committee would undertake its responsibilities.

Work Programme – Policy Reviews

The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory Services) advised Members of the changes made to policies over the past year in order to ensure a more consistent approach was taken over West Suffolk.

However, a more comprehensive review was still required and this particularly applied to the Taxis and Street Trading and Vending policies as identified in the attached Appendix A.

The Portfolio Holder for Regulatory was in attendance and explained that Members of the Committee would be fully engaged with in the review process by way of proposed workshop sessions. 

Taxi Fares Review

The Committee was advised that the current West Suffolk Hackney Carriage Fare Card was agreed in January 2019, currently in operation, and could therefore be reviewed by Spring 2020, if there was demand to do so.

Licensing and Regulatory Sub-Committees

The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory Services) drew attention to the attached Appendix B which contained an extract from the constitution that set out the circumstances under which; Officers would make decisions, decisions that should be determined by a Sub-Committee and those that would be determined by the full Committee.

The report also set out the composition parameters of the Sub-Committees.

Members of the Committee posed questions in respect of taxi livery and vehicle age restrictions.  The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory Services) confirmed that these would be addressed as part of the review of the Council’s Taxi Policy.

It was moved by Councillor Richard Rout, duly seconded by Councillor Patrick Chung and with the vote being unanimous it was

RESOLVED:

That:-

1.   The recommended approach to advice and consultation on Licensing and Regulatory Committee policy (Appendix A) as set out in Paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of the report be endorsed;

2.   Fares charged by taxis licenced throughout the District continue to be reviewed on an regular basis; and

3.   The Delegation of Functions in respect of Licensing & Regulatory Sub-Committees (Appendix B) be noted and the composition parameters as set out in Paragraph 4.6 of the report be agreed.