Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Protection Committee held on 25th January 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 25th January 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary, other registerable and non registerable interests in relation to any Agenda Item. See Notes below.

No declarations were received.

To consider the responses received during the public consultation and approve a new Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy for the District Council.

With the assistance of a report by the Licensing Officer (a copy of which was appended in the Minute Book), the Committee considered the contents of a draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy for the Council. The Policy was first introduced in 2018 and as part of its implementation, it had been agreed to review the policy every three years.

Members were informed that the Policy had been revised to address new and statutory duties placed upon the Council and the review had also provided an opportunity to revisit a number of existing areas of the policy which had been adopted in 2021. The review had also permitted a examination of the introduction of new legislation, statutory guidance and the impact of changing economic conditions.

The Committee were advised that the changes proposed were in keeping with regulatory codes of conduct, statutory guidance and the Council’s Corporate Plan and that changes would create a clearer, concise, and more consistent policy which would benefit the public, the licensed trade, and the licensing team. All costs associated with the implementation of the policy would be financed from the receipt of licence fees.

A public consultation had taken place between 30th January and 25th March 2024 and 31 responses had received. Details of which were provided to Members of the Committee.

Members proceed to then review and discuss in detail the responses received to those conditions where changes were proposed, together with the Licensing team’s responses, and the final proposal or options for inclusion within the revised policy. These were grouped by Driver Conditions (Appendix 4), Vehicle Conditions (Appendix 5) and Private Hire Operator Conditions (Appendix 6).

Driver Conditions (Appendix 4)

In discussing the proposed introduction of a further appropriate formal driving qualification to improve driver competency (Section 4 – 39.4) the Committee were of the view that the proposed condition needed to be more specific to state which qualification would be required. Officers agreed that this would be made clear both in the final documentation and on the District Council’s website. The Committee then indicated their approval for the inclusion of this condition.

Vehicle Conditions (Appendix 5)

The Committee discussed the responses which had been received regarding the need to display signage on Private Hire vehicles when they were not been used for licensed purposes. Having noted that the request had been made for privacy and safety reasons, the Committee indicated their support to enable signage to be removed when licensed drivers were using their vehicles for private use. With regards to the proposal to remove the additional door signage for Hackney Carriages, the Committee confirmed that they were content with this proposal.

The Committee then discussed the proposals as outlined in Section 26.5 – 26.8 of the draft Policy such that once any vehicle currently licensed under retained grandfather rights ceased to be licensed, they could no longer transfer their plate to any other vehicle. Having reviewed the responses received on this matter and the comments of the Licensing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider a report by the Licensing Managing outlining changes to the temporary pavement licensing regime under the Business and Planning Act 2020 and the impact of the changes to this regime made by the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

With the assistance of a report by the Licensing Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Committee were informed that new legislation came into force on 31st March 2024 which had made permanent changes to the temporary pavement licensing regime which was introduced under the Business and Planning Act 2020.

Members were advised of the main changes which had been introduced as part of the new legislation. These included the introduction of maximum standard fees for new and renewal applications, an increase in the maximum term a licence can be granted, changes to the timescales for consultation and determination and guidance regarding the minimum width of clear space.  Details of mandatory and local conditions were also provided, and the Committee were also informed that enforcement powers would transfer from the Highways Authority to the District Council.

The Committee’s attention was then drawn to the proposed fees which the District Council wished to charge for new and renewal applications and Members were acquainted with the rationale for the decision to split the fees between applications of 5 tables / 20 chairs and above and not to charge the maximum permitted. The Licensing Manager explained that the fees charged would be reviewed in a 12-month period.

Having welcomed the permanent implementation of the streamlined approach towards the issue of pavement licences, it was

RESOLVED

a)  that changes to the temporary pavement licensing regime and proposed transitionary arrangements be noted;

b)  that the fees for applications be set as follows:

c)  the length of the licence be granted for 2 years or less by exception only;

d)  that any appeal following refusal of an application or revocation of a licence be referred to the Licensing and Protection Sub-Committee.

To consider the monitoring report on the delivery of Service Plans for Food Law Enforcement and Health and Safety Regulation for Quarter 4.

With the assistance of a report by the Environmental Health Service Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Committee received and noted an update on progress made against the delivery of work on the Council’s Food Law and Health and Safety Service Plans during the fourth quarter of 2023/24.

With regards to the Food Law Enforcement Plan, the Committee were advised that the main focus continued to be the inspection programme. With this in mind, Members were advised that 264 food hygiene inspections had been carried out during Quarter 4, which gave a total of 768 inspections for the year 2023-24 which was in excess of the level predicted. Members also noted that there had been 78 new business registrations which was slightly less than previous quarters but reflected the continuing flux of food businesses.

Progress against the inspection of premises categorised under the Alternative Enforcement Strategy remained at Red, however the Committee were pleased to note that additional temporary resources had been secured to bring those businesses back into the inspection programme. Members were reminded that Category E businesses were those deemed the lowest risk within the District.

The Committee were informed that there had been nine compliance checks undertaken within the quarter, at those premises where food hygiene inspections had identified issues that required attention. The level of activity had been slightly higher than predicted for the year which reflected the fact that some of the businesses had not been inspected for 4 years.

Members also noted that requests for export certificates had been lower than anticipated and predicted income had been adjusted accordingly. However, requests for rescores continued to be higher than anticipated and Members suggested that this was a positive reflection on the engagement that the team were undertaking.

The Committee were also informed that the Authority had continued to take part in the sampling activities offered by the UK Health Security Agency. The topics had been ‘Ready to Eat Salad and salad components from Retail and Catering’ and ‘Cooked Ready to Eat Sliced or Cut Meat from retail and catering premises’.

It was also reported that the level of activity with regard to infectious disease control had increased slightly due to the UK Health Security Agency restarting notifications of certain confirmed food and waterborne gastrointestinal pathogens. There had been approximately 10 cases within the current year.

With regards to Health and Safety activity within the quarter, it was noted that the majority of work undertaken was reactive. There were 16 accidents reported, of which 5 were investigated and Members were reminded that the selection of accidents for investigation was based on the risk-based criteria set out by the Health and Safety Executive. There were 26 other service requests responded to, the majority of which were licensing consultations, and 11 skin piercing registrations were processed within the quarter.

Having congratulated the Environmental Health Team for getting the delivery of work within the approved plans back on target following the difficulties experienced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider the draft Service Plan for Food Law Enforcement 2024-25.

Consideration was given to a report by the Environmental Health Service Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) to which was attached a draft Service Plan for Food Law Enforcement for 2024-25.

The Committee were reminded that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) requires every local authority to outline how it will fulfil its duty to deliver food controls in the form of a Service Plan, specifying how and at what level the official controls will be delivered. It also details the resources required to deliver it, together with a  review of the previous year’s performance.  Brief details of the regulatory controls included within the Plan were then provided for Members of the Committee.

Members were informed that on 1st April 2024 there were 1654 food businesses registered in Huntingdonshire, which was a reduction of 88 businesses compared to the previous year. The Committee noted that the main priority for the year would be the continuation of the inspection programme which was largely back on track following the suspension and catch-up period after the global pandemic. The Service would also continue with the other activities such as requests for service, giving advice to businesses, investigating infectious disease and the follow up of any food alerts for action.

Members also noted the intention to continue with the presentation of monitoring reports to the Committee on a quarterly basis and that these would include the same performance indicators as in the previous year.

Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

a)  that the Service Plan for Food Law Enforcement 2024-25 be approved in accordance with the Council’s Constitution; and

b)  that quarterly monitoring reports be requested to monitor progress against the Service Plan.

To consider the draft Service Plan for Health and Safety Regulation 2024-25.

Consideration was given to a report by the Environmental Health Services Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) to which was attached the 2024-25 Draft Service Plan for Health and Safety Regulation.

The Committee was advised that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was the National Regulator for Health and Safety and required every Local Authority to outline how it would fulfil its duty to make adequate arrangements for the enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions within its area.

Having noted that the Authority did not have a duty to enforce Health and Safety in every type of business, the Committee were advised the Service Plans priorities were influenced by the content of the National Local Authority Enforcement Code, the Local Authority Circular 67/2 and the Corporate Plan 2023-28. Members note that the Authority would use this to select relevant incidents, accidents, diseases, dangerous occurrences and complaints for investigation to ensure that resources were targeted effectively.

The Committee were advised that the Authorities main activity for the forthcoming year would be responding to service requests as they came in. However, it was also intended to deliver a programme or targeted and regulatory interventions relating to inflatable amusement devices, electrical safety in hospitality settings, cooling towers in built up areas and safety in marina settings.

Members also noted that performance reports would continue to presented to the Committee on a quarterly basis.

Having agreed to check the reference to the number of large market towns with the District, it was

RESOLVED

(a)  that the Service Plan for Health and Safety Regulation 2024-25 be approved in accordance with the Council’s Constitution; and

(b)  that quarterly reporting figures on progress against the Service Plan be requested for consideration by the Committee.

To consider a report on actions taken under the powers delegated by the Licensing and Protection Committee.

With the assistance of a report by the Licensing Team (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Committee received and noted the details of actions which had been taken under delegated authority during the period 11th January to 1st May 2024.

In considering the contents of the report, the Committee noted the number of immediate suspensions listed at the end of April and were advised that work was ongoing within the Licensing team to look at an operator who were not considered to be taking care of their vehicles in a safe and suitable way. In response to members questions, the Licensing Manager also provided an explanation of the ways in which vehicle defects were identified.

Members were informed that there were currently no outstanding licensing decisions awaiting a court date. The last case was withdrawn the day before the applicant was due to appear in court.

To receive a summary of the meetings of the Licensing and Protection Sub-Committees that have taken place since the last meeting of the Committee.

With the assistance of a report by the Elections and Democratic Services Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Committee received and noted details of a meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee which had taken place since their last meeting.

The Committee received a verbal update on a proposal to undertake a public consultation exercise regarding the possible implementation of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to address issues being experienced with anti-social behaviour in a specific area of the Eynesbury ward in St Neots.

Having received a briefing on the background to the proposal, the Committee were provided with further details regarding the specific locations and the non-criminal behaviours which were intended to be addressed by the Order. Although these were subject to change, depending on the outcome of the public consultation.

In terms of the consultation exercise, the Committee were advised that this would include residents, local businesses and elected members and in response to their questions it was noted that the current intention was for any Order to be in place for a period of 3 years. Enforcement would be undertaken jointly by the Police and the District Council.

Having noted that the implementation of a Public Space Protection Order would need to be approved by the Licensing and Protection Committee, Members were also informed of the intention to convene a Special Meeting of the Committee in advance of the August recess, and it was hoped to circulate a date shortly.

The Committee received a verbal update on proposals to consult on the possible implementation of a Civil Injunction under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to address ongoing problems being experienced in St Neots High Street with youths climbing onto the roofs of business premises in the area. It was intended that this would cover the whole of the high street area and include any persons yet unknown. Members would be provided with further details as part of the consultation.