Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Panel noted there were no substitute members.

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

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

No declarations of interest were made.

To agree the notes of the last meeting held on 6 January 2011.

The notes from the 6 January 2011 meeting were agreed as a correct record.

To receive short presentations from Council Officers and Essex Police on the processing, monitoring and enforcement of Licensing conditions and on the police powers and their recent operations in relation to Licensed establishments.

The Chairman welcomed the various officers from the Safer Communities Partnership, Inspector Tom Simons, Essex Police and Kim Tuckey from the Council’s licensing section. They were there to discuss the processes of monitoring and enforcement of the Licensing conditions in the various premises throughout the district and to answer any questions that may arise.

Inspector Tom Simons gave a short presentation on the role of the Police in the local night time economy. He noted that they have to keep the four licensing objectives, set out by the Licensing Act, in mind. The objectives were:

• The prevention of Crime and Disorder;
• Public safety;
• The prevention of public nuisance; and
• The protection of children from harm.

The Police were the most concerned about the first objective, prevention of crime and disorder for which they relied on a constructive relationship with the Council and the Safer Communities Partnership (SCP).

They used:

• Section 51 of the Licensing Act, 2003 which allowed interested parties or responsible authorities to apply for a review of a premises licence. This was a long term approach and not a quick fix.
• Section 53 of the Licensing Act which allowed chief officers at Superintendant level, to apply for an expedited review of a licensed premise. This must be heard within 28 days.
• Section 161 which allowed the Police to close a premise for up to 24 hours and the application must be made by an inspector or above. This power was not used very often.

The Police were currently running ‘Operation Teutonic’ which enabled them to put in extra resources, as it was partly funded by the Safer Communities Partnership, into policing licensed premises in Loughton. It allowed proactive measures to be deployed such as knife arches, drug dogs, PCSOs etc. where needed.

They have also launched ‘Pub Link’ where the licensed premises in Loughton High Road are linked by two way radio to each other and to the Police. This way, they can share information in real time about any problems or problem customers around that night.

Councillor Wixley asked how the recent announcement on the reduction of Police Officers, was affecting Police moral. Inspector Simons noted that about 14,000 frontline Police Officers nationwide, would be removed from their role, so there would be reductions in Essex but  he was unsure how that would play out. It was concerning.

Councillor Barrett said that people were concerned about the noise disturbance created by customers of the Crystal Lounge and the Nu Bar when they leave the premises. They were pleased to have the police patrolling the area but wondered if this could be tightened up. Inspector Simons replied that there were other responsible bodies, such as Environmental Health who could help with disturbances like this. He noted that the Council had not received any complaints about noise from the public and they needed engagement from the public, the legislation was there to help in these matters. Councillor Barrett replied that he thought that it needed a responsible authority like  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

The final programmed meeting of the Panel for this year will be held on 07^th April 2011.

The date of the next meeting of the Panel was noted.