Agenda item

To receive the report of the Head of Place, which outlines to Members, details

of key Licensing Activities carried out from 1 September 2020 to 30 November

2020, including applications and service requests received, details of any

enforcement work, progress updates of our work plan and any changes in

Licensing Law.

Members indicated that they had read the Quarterly Update. Subsequently, the Chair asked whether members had any questions about the report that they wished to direct to the Licensing Lead.

Councillor D. Brown referred to paragraph 4.4 of the report which stated that “Officers will restart pro-active inspections once the pandemic is over”. He asked whether this meant that there had been no inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic and what effect that had on the Enforcement aspect of the Licensing team’s work.

The Licensing Lead replied that the statement Councillor D. Brown was referring to in the report was specific to inspections of gambling premises. He stated that it was difficult for him to provide a specific date when those would begin again.

The Licensing Lead stated that he had spoken tonumerous pub owners, talked to the chair of the LVA and that his team had visited various premises, particularly on the 4^th July 2020, when pubs were allowed to reopen for the first time since the first lockdown period. He stated that his team had recently began increasing the number of inspections that they undertake.

Councillor Patel asked what support and safety measures were in place for Private Hire drivers. He added that he had heard that Cheltenham Borough Council were potentially looking at paying for screens to be installed in taxi’s in Cheltenham and questioned whether Gloucester City Council were thinking of doing the same.

Councillor Patel also asked whether the Licensing team were only focused on ensuring that social distancing and safety measures were adhered to in off-licenses or whether they had also focused their attention on other premises such as pubs.

The Licensing Lead replied that he had seen an article that suggested that there may be grants provided by Cheltenham Borough Council for screens but that it would require further investigation and that he would speak to his Licensing counterparts at Cheltenham Borough Council for further detail.

The Licensing Lead stated that the Licensing team had kept their drivers up to date on any government legislation. He noted that the Licensing team had been putting information on their website and had communicated directly with drivers via text which had led to positive feedback from drivers in the area.  He added that the Licensing team had just issued stickers for all licensed vehicles so drivers can put them in their windows to remind passengers to wear a face covering.

The Licensing Lead said that since the end of the second lockdown approximately 50% of licensed premises had reopened in Gloucester. He stated that his team had spoken to the LVA and informed them of their view of what constituted a ‘substantial meal’. He added that text messages were sent to all Licensed premises to make sure they were aware of the rules to follow under the new regulations.

Councillor Patel noted that he had also received positive feedback from licensed drivers regarding how well any change in regulation had been relayed to them and thanked the Licensing team for their work in that regard. 

Councillor Haigh commented that she was pleased that there was progress in linking gambling up with other aspects of Licensing and Enforcement. She added that there had been some positive steps across the authorities in the County towards having common Licensing goals.

The Chair stated that he was proud of the standard of Licensing and Enforcement in Gloucester.

Councillor Tracey asked whether drivers supply masks if a customer gets into a vehicle without a face covering.

The Licensing Lead replied that the Council do not provide masks to drivers. He stated that taxi drivers were self-employed, so it was up to them to provide any masks or hand sanitizer necessary for customers.

RESOLVED that the Licensing and Enforcement Committee note the contents of the report.