Agenda item

To receive a report on the work carried out by the Licensing Team and the wider impacts and benefits of the licensing regime

The Director for Growth and Regeneration outlined the structure of the Licensing function and team and presented a report on the work carried out by the Licensing Team and the wider impacts and benefits of the licensing regime. The report set out the performance data for all types of licences including Taxis, Alcohol and Entertainment and Miscellaneous Licences. The report detailed a summary of the work delivered during 2022-23 and provided a comparison with previous years. The effects of covid and recovery were taken into account when reviewing the data.

Going forward it was noted that the Government’s Levelling up White Paper would explore transferring control of taxi licensing to both combined authority and upper tier authorities and stakeholders would be consulted on any such proposals. Both the Chair and the Portfolio Holder for Licensing would be involved in the Council’s response to the consultation.

There was also a new Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill to be enacted which would place a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures. This legislation would have an impact on the Licensing Team as well as those organising large events.

During the debate, the following was raised:

·       There was appreciation for the Licensing Team and they were thanked for the comprehensive information and excellent quality of the report

·       With regard to debtors, it was queried why fees were not received before the licensing work was undertaken

·       The Licensing and Compliance Officer responded that much of the outstanding debt was inherited from a previous team and mainly constituted non-payment of annual premises licence fees that legislation required to automatically renew. The current team had been involved in chasing up on these unpaid debts and had subsequently reduced the overall amount and now had a process in place to pursue immediate payment of annual fees after 28 days

·       With regard to the Forbidden Forest event referred to in the Sub Committee minutes held on 10 October 2022, there was reference made on the lack of stewarding for the 2022 event and during the event held in 2023 there had been at least two serious accidents involving those attending that festival. The main concern was around the driving standard on country roads and the poor signage and lack of stewards that led to the Belvoir events and how this could be addressed through the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meetings for such events. It was reported that Stathern Parish Council and others were looking for some reassurance and improvements in the arrangements, noise monitoring and access routes for the Noisily Festival coming up in July

·       The Director for Growth and Regeneration advised that there had been a meeting that day between the organiser and the Parish Council. There was also the SAG meetings which Jo Belcher, the Regulatory Services Team Leader, chaired and she understood that concerns had been raised and would check on the arrangements and ensure the Parish Council were kept informed. The SAG meetings involved representation from the police, highway authorities for both Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, Ambulance, Fire & Rescue