To receive nominations for Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee.

The Chair, asked for nominations for the position of Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee for the municipal year 2021/2022.

Councillor Mohammed Pappu proposed Councillor Shad Chowdhury for the position. This was seconded by Councillor Eve McQuillan and Councillor Rajib Ahmed. 

There were no further nominations.

The Licensing Committee;

Resolved

That Councillor Shad Chowdhury is elected as Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee for the municipal year 2021-2022.

Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest in the Code of Conduct for Members to determine whether they have an interest in any agenda item and any action they should take. For further details, please see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Members are reminded to declare the nature of the interest and the agenda item it relates to. Please note that ultimately it’s the Members’ responsibility to declare any interests form and to update their register of interest form as required by the Code.

If in doubt as to the nature of your interest, you are advised to seek advice prior to the meeting by contacting the Monitoring Officer or Democratic Services

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 18 March 2021 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 18 March 2021 were agreed as a correct record of proceedings.

Simmi Yesmin, Democratic Services Officer, introduced the report and stated that this report set out the Terms of Reference, Membership and Quorum of the Licensing Committee and the schedule of dates for the Municipal Year 2021/2022.

The Licensing Committee;

Resolved

1.    That the Terms of Reference, Membership and Quorum as set out in Appendices 1 of the report be noted.

Simmi Yesmin, Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and stated that the report set out the Terms of Reference and meeting dates for the Licensing Sub-Committee for the Municipal Year 2021/2022.

Ms Yesmin stated the report was seeking to determine the number of Licensing Sub-Committee chairs and asked members to either nominate themselves or others for the position.

The following Members were put forward to be Chairs for the Licensing Sub-Committees:

·       Councillor Shah Ameen

·       Councillor Shad Uddin Chowdhury

·       Councillor Peter Golds

·       Councillor Kevin Brady

·       Councillor Amina Ali

·       Councillor Eve McQuillan

·       Councillor Rajib Ahmed

·       Councillor Mohammed Pappu

·       Councillor Dan Tomlinson

·       Councillor Victoria Obaze

The Licensing Committee;

Resolved

1.    That Licensing Sub-Committee’s Terms of Reference and Schedule of meetings attached as Appendix 1 to the report be noted.

2.    The establishment of Licensing Sub-Committees to determine applications where representations have been made was agreed.

3.    Agreed to appoint ten Licensing Sub-Committee Chairs.

Mr Tom Lewis, Team Leader of Licensing and Safety introduced the annual report for 2020/21 of the income received, and the expenditure and initiatives funded by the late night levy. He explained that the levy charge was set by Central Government and was based on the rateable value of the premises. It was noted that most premises in Tower Hamlets were rated as Band B or C (£768/ £1259).

Mr Lewis highlighted the total income received by the levy in Year 3 (2020/21) and detailed the committed and actual spend in Year 3 leaving an estimated surplus of £451,778. The effects of the pandemic were noted, which meant that the amount collected for Year 3 was likely to be less than what it would have been, however it was noted that officers were now in the process of ensuring that all premises were up to date with the levy charges. The coronavirus pandemic also meant that certain initiatives stopped during all or parts of 2020/21. These included street pastors, portable toilets, additional cleaning and the conflict awareness training and due to the surplus this year there would be an increase in the roll out of initiatives for 2021/2022. It was also noted that having benchmarked with other London boroughs, officers would be exploring other possible initiatives that could be considered such as alcohol-free campaign, radio linked scheme for late night venues and additional safety campaigns and training.

In response to questions it was noted that portable toilets were placed in hotspot areas and this was decided in consultation with the Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officer (THEOs). Mr Lewis encouraged Members to get in touch with him if they had any suggestions for areas that would benefit from having portable toilets installed. 

Members welcomed the report. 

The Licensing Committee;

Resolved

1.    The work achieved via the levy revenue, the income received and the expenditure was noted.