Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Phil Smith, Aiden Gray, David Fuller and Ken Ferrett. Councillor Scott Harris had been due to attend but was delayed at work.

There were no declarations.

The minutes of the Licensing Policy Committee meeting held on 13 January 2015 are attached.

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Policy Committee held on 13 January 2015 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Policy Committee held on 13 January 2015 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the chair.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is for the committee to consider a review of the non-statutory fees charges for licences/registrations which are administered by the Licensing Committee.

RECOMMENDED

a)    That the Licensing Committee note the contents of the report and determine the level of fee to be adopted;

b)    That the approved fees be implemented with effect from 1 April 2016 unless otherwise stated within the report; and

c)    That the Director of Culture and City Development be given authority to advertise, (where appropriate) such fees and charges that are subject to any formal public statutory consultation.

The Licensing Manager introduced the report and explained that it has always been the aim of the committee to work towards total cost recovery. A revised summary analysis was circulated to members showing amended figures for total expenditure and income for 2016/17 and 2017/18.

The Licensing Manager explained that the proposed revised fees to come into immediate effect for the grant or renewal for a private hire driver licence for a 3 year period is £257 and for a hackney carriage driver £284, which reflects a saving to the applicant in terms of the cost associated with the longer period of licensing.

Members sought clarification on the existing and proposed fee increases, the new 3year licences, time allocation and, mandatory and statutory fees.

The Licensing Manager and the Finance Officer explained that the trade representatives had been consulted and were in agreement with the proposed changes, the fees would continue to be looked at annually, time allocation would change but costs would remain and that the database is a strong and robust way of time recording.

RESOLVED

a)    That the Licensing Committee noted the contents of the report and determined the level of fee to be adopted;

b)    That the approved fees be implemented with effect from 1 April 2016 unless otherwise stated within the report; and

c)    That the Director of Culture and City Development be given authority to advertise, (where appropriate) such fees and charges that are subject to any formal public statutory consultation.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is for the Licensing Committee to recommend to Full Council that it adopts the existing Statement of Licensing Policy with effect from 26 January 2016 pending the review and subsequent consultation on the proposed amendments to the Statement of Licensing Policy in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, for the period 2016 - 2021.

RECOMMENDED that the Licensing Committee recommend to Full Council that it adopts the existing Statement of Licensing Policy with effect from 26 January 2016 as an interim measure pending the Council making a final decision on the outcome of the review and consultation on the Statement of Licensing Policy for the period 2016 until 2021.

The Licensing Manager introduced the report.

RESOLVED that the Licensing Committee recommend to Full Council that it adopts the existing Statement of Licensing Policy with effect from 26 January 2016 as an interim measure pending the Council making a final decision on the outcome of the review and consultation on the Statement of Licensing Policy for the period 2016 until 2021.