Agenda and draft minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or nonpecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on the 11th June, 2023.

RESOVLED that the minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to the Chair provided that questions do not contravene the provisions set out Council Procedure Rule 10.01.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Thursday 5 September or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

Questions and responses will be published at least 24 hours before the meeting. Supplementary questions may be put and answered during the meeting, subject to the relevant time limit.

There were no public questions.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to present a petition or deputation provided that any such petition or deputation does not contravene the provisions set out Council 2 Procedure Rule 11.01.

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please provide the subject matter to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk.

There were no petitions or deputations.

To receive the report of the Director of Communities. The purpose of the report

is to ask the Licensing and Enforcement  Committee to recommend to Council

that the revised Statement of Principles for 2025-2028 be formally approved

and adopted.

15.1       The Community Wellbeing Officer presented the report. The purpose of which was to ask the Licensing and Enforcement Committee to recommend to Council that the revised Statement of Principles for 2025-2028 be formally approved and adopted.

15.2       The Chair pointed to page 52 of the agenda pack, she asked whether it could be confirmed that the contact details were still in date, as the agenda pack referred to Citizens Advice as “Gloucester and District Citizens Advice Bureau” when they were named “North & West Gloucestershire Citizens Advice” on their website. The Community Wellbeing Officer stated that she would double check the contact information and that all information relating to the list of organisations that gave help and advice about gambling was correct.

15.3       Councillor Conder noted that the list of consultees on page 48 of the report still referred to Richard Graham MP, even though he was no longer the Member of Parliament for Gloucester. The Community Wellbeing Officer stated that she would update this and add the Tewkesbury MP, as he represented some Gloucester wards.

15.4       The Chair proposed to accept the recommendations outlined in the officer report, with there being no objections it was:

RESOLVED that the Licensing and Enforcement Committee APPROVE the Statement of principles, subject to two amendments, one on page 48 to update the contact details of the Gloucester MP and Tewkesbury MP and 

RECOMMEND that the revised Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles is approved and adopted by Council before it can advertise and publish it.

To present to members, the report of the Director of Communities. The purpose of the report is to outline to members a proposal submitted by Gloucester Hackney Carriage Association (GHCA) for an increase to the current Hackney Carriage tariff.

16.1       The Licensing Team Leader presented the report. The purpose of which was to outline to members a proposal submitted by Gloucester Hackney Carriage Association (GHCA) for an increase to the current Hackney Carriage tariff.

16.2       Councillor O’Donnell raised concerns about the increased prices and questioned whether this would affect trade. The trade representative explained that the proposed 5% increase resulted from several factors. He noted that Gloucester did not raise tariffs as frequently as other authorities. He mentioned that drivers had been consulted, and opinions varied, with some preferring a larger increase and others a smaller one. He stated that if the increase had been matched to inflation, they would have proposed a 16% rise in fares, but this would have negatively impacted both trade and customers. He believed that the proposed 5% increase was well thought out and balanced, ensuring that the trade would be less affected while prices remained competitive for customers. 

16.3       The Chair asked whether the introduction of Uber had been factored into the price increase and if there was concern that it might price drivers out. In response, the Trade Representative stated that insurance was the biggest cost for drivers this year. He noted that the introduction of Uber occurred after the original price increase but was more likely to have a detrimental impact on Private Hire vehicles, although there would also be some impact on Hackney Carriages. He explained that a multitude of factors led to the suggestion of a 5% increase in the tariff rate.

16.4       The Chair asked if the advertising cost of the proposed tariff change had been factored into the department budget. In response, The Licensing Team Leader, stated that it was factored into last years budget but the fees would again be reviewed for the next financial year last this year.

16.5       The Chair proposed to accept the recommendations outlined in the officer report, there being no dissent, the Licensing and Enforcement Committee:

RESOLVED that

-       The proposed increase to the Hackney Carriage tariff is advertised as a public notice in accordance with the requirements of Section 65, Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

-       If no objections are received from the public within 14 days of publication of the notice that the proposed tariff will come into effect from 1st November 2024 (this is at the request of GHCA).

-       If objections are received within the 14 days, then the matter will need to be considered further at the December meeting of the Licensing and Enforcement Committee.

To receive the report of the Director of Communities. The purpose of the report is to seek the Licensing and Enforcement Committee’s approval of the draft Street Trading Policy for the next twelve months.

17.1       The Licensing Team Leader presented the report. The purpose of the report was to seek the Licensing and Enforcement Committee’s approval of the draft Street Trading Policy for the next twelve months.

17.2       Councillor O’Donnell raised concern about street trading about the potential closure of two streets to street traders. The Licensing Team Leader replied that there was no longer any proposal to close prohibit the two streets to street traders and this decision had been reached after consultation with the Cabinet Member and Chair.

17.3       Councillor O’Donnell raised concerns about potential fees for traders, he said that he understood that this would be discussed at a later Committee but had concerns that they may be priced out. The Licensing Team Leader replied that the service needed to be cost neutral, which was why they needed to review the fees.

17.4       Councillor Patel asked if the street trading policy usually ran from September of one year to September of the subsequent year. In response, the Licensing Team Leader replied that the policy had come before members in 2022. However, members refused to allow it to go to consultation, mainly because of the proposal to prohibittwo streets to traders. He said that after consultation with the Chair and Cabinet Member, this was no longer proposed for the next 12 months. He said that the recommendation to approve the policy for 12 months then allowed more time to assess whether in the future a proposal to prohibit Street Trading in the Gate Streets would take place. 

17.5 RESOLVED that the Licensing and Enforcement Committee:

1: APPROVE the draft Street Trading Policy be approved for the next twelve months.

2: Officers are to review the current fees and charges and report any changes to the next Licensing and Enforcement Committee.

To receive the report of the Director of Communities. The purpose of the report is to outline to Members, details of key Licensing Activities carried out from 1 June 2024 to 31 August 2024, including applications and service requests received, details of any enforcement work, progress updates of the work plan and any changes in Licensing Law and to seek suggestions from members as ways to improve the format and content of this report.

18.1       The Licensing Team Leader asked if members had any queries about the content of the report.

18.2       In response to a query by Councillor Conder, the Licensing Team Leader said that an email had been sent out to all members of the Licensing and Enforcement Committee with an update on Permali Ltd. He added that the email came from the Community Wellbeing Manager.

18.3       Councillor O’Donnell noted that there were only 6 licenced dog breeders in the City of Gloucester. He said that there were adverts online by persons who were breeding dogs without a licence. He stated that only one person had been charged for breeding dogs without a licence. He questioned why those advertising dog breeding online without a licence had not been investigated. In response, the Community Wellbeing Officer said the legislation outlined that there was a business test so some people could breed dogs without a licence, she added that they needed specific information to make a data protection inquiry and that sometimes adverts alone do not provide enough information. This was why they required people to contact them if there were issues with people breeding dogs without a licence.

18.4       In response to a question by Councillor Bowkett, the Licensing Team Leader stated that legislation dictated that trading standards carried out spot checks on premises to see if they served underage customers. The said that they did provide intelligence and worked closely with the Police and other relevant parties. He said that he would get the figures as to how many premises had had spot checks and circulate them to Councillor Bowkett after the meeting.

18.5       In response to a query by Councillor Patel, the Community Wellbeing Officer stated that she would get the figures in relation to how many cases of illegal dog breeding had been investigated in the past 1, 2 and 3 years, how many complaints they had received about the topic and how many breeders had been contacted. She added that if they believed that they had a case after investigation, that it went to OneLegal, who would determine if it passed the threshold.

18.6       In response to an additional query by Councillor Patel, the Community Wellbeing Officer noted that there were two members of staff who investigated animal licensing breaches.

18.7       Councillor Conder stated that she believed it to be important to know who was breeding dogs.

18.8       Councillor Bowkett asked if future work could be conducted to see what resources would be needed to tackle illegal dog breeding and if this could be added to section 6 of the next quarterly report. The Community Wellbeing Officer stated that she would follow up on this. 

18.9       Councillor Conder asked whether grabbing machines were properly regulated and if the Community Wellbeing Officer was aware of any in the City of Gloucester, as they were not games of chance but rather algorithmically operated. In response, the Community Wellbeing Officer noted that they were category D machines, so they would be subject  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider the following resolution should members wish to discuss the exempt minutes of the Licensing and Enforcement Sub-Committee meetings.

“That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of proceeding, that if members of the press or public are present during consideration of this item there will be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 & 7 of Part 1 of Schedule12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.”

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of business to be transacted or the nature of proceedings, that if members of the press and public are present during consideration of this item or these items there will be a disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.

To receive the exempt minutes of the following meetings of the Licensing and Enforcement Sub-Committee, if members decide they wish to discuss them:

-       25^th June (x2)

RESOLVED as per the exempt minutes.

Tuesday, December 10 at 6.30 p.m.

Tuesday, 10^th December.