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 interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committees held on 9^th September and 11^th October 2021 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee meetings held on 9^th September and 11^th October 2021 were agreed as a correct record of proceedings.

Mr Lewis briefly detailed the enforcement visits undertaken in 2020/21 and April 2021 to date (end of January 2022) and the achievements of these visits. It was explained that where non-compliance was witnessed and a breach of the Licensing Act 2003 is established, appropriate and proportionate action is taken in line with the Council’s Enforcement Policy. 

Mr Lewis then referred The Committee to Appendix 5 of the report, which detailed the number of prosecutions and outcomes during 2020/21 as a result of the late-night inspections.  It was also noted that as a result of these visits 6 FPNs were served on Licensed Premises. Five for Offences under the All Tiers Coronavirus Business Restrictions and one for offences under the Step 2 Coronavirus Business Restrictions.

In response to questions the following was noted;

-       That fines for non-compliance were set by central government and any formal action would require a graduated approach and the type of action would usually depend on such matters as compliance history of the premises, attitude of Licensee, extent and seriousness of the breach.

-       Where persistent non-compliance is witnessed and a breach of the Licensing Act 2003 is established, Responsible Authorities can seek to review the premises licence.

The Committee welcomed the report.

The Chair moved and it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.1

Mr Jonathan Melnick, Principal Lawyer – Enforcement, briefly introduced the report which detailed the completed licensing related prosecutions and appeals for 2021. It was noted that the London Borough of Tower Hamlets was a Licensing Authority and amongst its functions are requirements to monitor compliance with the licences that it grants, take action against unlicensed premises, and those that breach conditions of licences that have been granted and will be the respondent to any appeal against a decision of the Licensing Committee or Licensing Sub Committee.

Mr Melnick explained that there was a policy on how enforcement action should be taken and when prosecuting, officers followed the code for prosecutors that the Crown Prosecution Services themselves followed, as well as this the Council had its own enforcement policy and when offices submit cases Legal Officers exercise independent judgement as to who gets prosecuted and with what offence. It was noted that it was not always possible to prosecute every single person for every single possible fence, but mainly to ensure compliance with the law and have a consistent approach.

It was noted that the report does not only deal with the Licensing Act 2003 matters but also those under the Gambling Act 2005 and Special Treatment Licences granted under the London Local Authorities Act 1991.

The number of prosecutions and appeals over the quarters was noted with a total of 8 prosecutions and 8 appeals. It was highlighted that the coronavirus pandemic was still impacting on the courts with limited allocation of court time given to hear prosecutions and appeals with decisions being on hold for a long period. 

In response to questions the following was noted;

-       That the Future Leisure Ltd was a Gambling Act appeal and therefore the impact of the Cumulative Impact Zone had no relevance to that.

-       That a pragmatic decision is made whether to chase for costs where cases are dismissed as they are usually minimal.

-       That due to the pandemic, the average cost awarded against the Council has been slightly muddled up. As usually cost orders against the authority are generally relatively rare, however on this occasion, the appeal for Future Leisure Ltd was a an unusual one.

-       That when considering the application for Future Leisure Ltd, the Sub Committee were of the view that it would be incredibly harmful to have this licence granted as it was located in close proximity to four hostels and the police were very worried of the impact on vulnerable people and the impact on crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

Members welcomed the report. 

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

The Chair extended his thanks to officers and members of the Licensing Committee for their contributions and support over the last municipal year.