Agenda and minutes

Under the terms of reference for the Licensing Committee each Sub-Committee is required to elect a Chairman on an ad hoc basis for the duration of the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with the terms of reference for the Licensing Committee, Councillor Mrs P Smith be elected Chairman for the duration of the Sub-Committee meeting.

Councillor Mrs M McEwen had agreed to stand in for Councillor Mrs P Richardson, who had tended her apologies for this meeting.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

The Sub-Committee noted the agreed procedure for the conduct of business, and its terms of reference.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Confidential Items Commencement

Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)        All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)        At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)        Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers

Paragraph 8 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item of business set out below as it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act indicated and the exemption is considered to outweigh the potential public interest in disclosing the information:

Agenda                                                                                   Exempt Information

Item No           Subject                                                           Paragraph Number

     6                 Applications for Hackney Carriage Drivers’                1

                        Licences

The following appeal statement from Mr Ahmed has been received following publication of the agenda.

(a)        Mr M M Qasim

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr M M Qasim for a Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Mrs P Smith, Mrs M McEwen and J Wyatt. Members noted that Officers did not have delegated powers to grant this application and, as a result, the application had to be considered by the Sub-Committee. The Chairman welcomed the Applicant, and introduced the Members and Officers present. The Assistant Director (Legal Services) informed the Sub-Committee of the circumstances for which the licence could not be issued under delegated authority.

The Applicant made a short statement to the Sub-Committee in support of his application, before answering a number of questions from members of the Sub-Committee. The applicant then made a short closing statement to the Sub-Committee before the Chairman requested that the applicant leave the Chamber whilst the Sub-Committee debated his application in private. The Chairman invited the Applicant back into the Chamber and informed him of the Sub-Committee’s decision.

(b)        Mr M O Ayyaz

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr M O Ayyaz for a Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Mrs P Smith, Mrs M McEwen and J Wyatt. Members noted that Officers did not have delegated powers to grant this application and, as a result, the application had to be considered by the Sub-Committee. The Chairman welcomed the Applicant, and introduced the Members and Officers present. The Assistant Director (Legal Services) informed the Sub-Committee of the circumstances for which the licence could not be issued under delegated authority.

The Applicant made a short statement to the Sub-Committee in support of his application, before answering a number of questions from members of the Sub-Committee. The applicant then made a short closing statement to the Sub-Committee before the Chairman requested that the applicant leave the Chamber whilst the Sub-Committee debated his application in private. The Sub-Committee invited the Applicant back into the Chamber to answer further questions before requesting the Applicant to leave again whilst his application was debated in private. The Chairman invited the Applicant back into the Chamber and informed him of the Sub-Committee’s decision.

(c)        Mr F Ahmed

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr F Ahmed for a Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Mrs P Smith, Mrs M McEwen and J Wyatt. Members noted that Officers did not have delegated powers to grant this application and, as a result, the application had to be considered by the Sub-Committee. The Chairman welcomed the Applicant, and introduced the Members and Officers present. The Assistant Director (Legal Services) informed the Sub-Committee of the circumstances for which the licence could not be issued under delegated authority.

The Applicant made a short statement to the Sub-Committee in support of his application, before answering a number of questions from members of the Sub-Committee. The applicant then made a short closing statement to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

That the public and press be invited back into the meeting for the remaining item(s) of business.

RESOLVED:

That the public and press be invited back into the meeting for the remaining items of business.

To consider, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and the Town & Police Clauses Act 1847, breaches of the Taxi Interim Test by the following individuals:

(i)         Mr Shah Ali;

(ii)        Mr J Tew;

(iii)       Olympic Taxis;

(iv)       Mr Ahmed;

(v)        Mr Firth;

(vi)       Mr Uddin; and

(vii)      Mr Bashir.

The Sub-Committee was informed that the Council’s Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence conditions required vehicles to be submitted for interim examinations at testing premises approved by the Council. A number of Drivers were in breach of this condition, despite two reminders, and had been referred to the Sub-Committee for consideration.

The Sub-Committee noted that, following publication of the agenda, inspections had been satisfactorily completed for five of the Applicants so their licences could continue, one Applicant would be out of the Country until 21 February 2010 and had not been working so this application could be deferred pending the Applicant’s return, whilst the vehicle of one Applicant had been ‘written off’ and the plate surrendered to Licensing Officers.

The Chairman adjourned the meeting for ten minutes at 11.30am.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences for the following Applicants be continued as inspections had now been satisfactorily carried out:

(a)        Mr Shah Ali;

(b)        Mr J Tew;

(c)        Olympic Taxis;

(d)        Mr Firth; and

(e)        Mr Bashir;

(2)        That the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence for Mr Ahmed be suspended pending the return of the Applicant to the United Kingdom and the satisfactory completion of an inspection; and

(3)        That the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence for Mr Uddin had been revoked following its ‘write-off’ by the insurance company and the return of the vehicle plate to the Council.

The following additional documents have been received following the publication of the agenda.

The Sub-Committee considered an application from the Police for the Premises Licence at the Minx Bar in Loughton to be reviewed. This item was presided over by Councillors Mrs P Smith, D Dodeja and J Wyatt. The Chairman welcomed the participants and requested that they introduced themselves to the Sub-Committee. In attendance on behalf of Essex Police were Mr. N Sykes (Barrister) and Inspector T Simons. In attendance on behalf of the Premises were Mr. T Shields (Solicitor), Mr. R Laws and Mr. K Ireland (Trust Inns), Mr. N Din (Designated Premises Supervisor) and Mr. A Hayles (Premises Duty Manager). Also in attendance were D Baker (Planning Officer), R Gardiner (Environmental Health Officer), R Nigam and Ms S Caruth (Child Protection Officers). The objectors in attendance, who had all made representations prior to the meeting, were: Mr. M Brown; Mr. M Pigeon; Mr. D Linnell (Loughton Residents Association); and Mr. R Griffiths. Councillor J Hart was in attendance as the District Council Ward Member for Loughton High Road. The Chairman then introduced the Members and Officers present, and outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application.

(a)        The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Assistant Director (Legal) informed the Sub-Committee that an application from Essex Police to review the Premises Licence had been received for the Minx Bar in Loughton following a number of incidents of disorder at the Premises since 1 September 2008. It was explained that only twelve of the 30 representations received had been published in the agenda as permission had not been forthcoming from the other 18 representations. The Solicitor for the Minx Bar was concerned about the large number of representations that had not been published as part of the agenda, as the Premises Licence Holder had not had an opportunity to examine the nature of these objections.

(b)        Presentation of the Police’s Case

Mr. N Sykes on behalf of Essex Police stated that there had been 31 incidents of crime and disorder linked to the Premises since 1 September 2008. The Designated Premises Supervisor at the Premises had initially agreed to have a number of conditions voluntarily imposed on the Licence in October 2009, these principally being: an incident book to be maintained for all incidents of crime and disorder occurring in or around the Premises; CCTV to be working and made available to the Police upon request; high visibility jackets to be worn by security staff when outside the Premises; no glassware to be allowed on the Premises; and the Licensing Authority to be informed in writing of any changes in particulars of the Designated Premises Supervisor. The Police believed that the Premises LicenceHolder had failed to adhere to these conditions and consequently had requested a review of the Premises Licence under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

It was further stated that the Police was not seeking a suspension or revocation of the Licence, but a reduction of the hours that the Premises could serve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.