To authorise the Chair to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee held on 27 November 2023 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chair was authorised to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee held on 27 November 2023 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chair to ask if any Member present is substituting for another Member and, if so, to declare their name as substitute Member and the name of the absent Member.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive any disclosures by Members of disclosable pecuniary interests / other registerable / non-registerable interests in matters on the agenda and the nature of any interest and details of any dispensations obtained.  Members are reminded of the need to repeat their declaration immediately prior to the commencement of the item in question.

There were no declarations of interest made.

Members received and considered the report of the Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety outlining the Council’s recommended changes to standard conditions of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, to ensure the conditions adhered to the Government’s best practice guidance.

The Council licensed the drivers of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, the hackney carriage and private hire vehicles themselves and the operators of private hire vehicles.  Hackney carriages could apply for hire and wait on taxi ranks.  Private hire vehicles could only be booked (in advance) through an operator.  The primary role of licensing was the protection of the public and therefore the Council had adopted a Licensing Policy and conditions to this end.  The last policy was adopted in 2023.

In November 2023, the Government published best practice guidance. The authority already met most of the best practice in the guidance and officers had made recommendations where the Council did not comply, which was detailed at Appendix A to the report.

Seven recommendations were highlighted; four were considered minor and could be formally approved by Council in February 2024.  The other three were more significant changes to the Policy and therefore a public consultation would need to be held.  Once completed, the consultation results would be reported to the Committee at its meeting scheduled to be held on 22 May 2024.

The guidance set out in detail the requirement to ensure that disabled people were protected and could access taxis.  The Council’s policies should encourage much greater provision of taxis for disabled people, but it was not clear how carrying out surveys, as recommended, would greatly assist this. Officers would need to consider this further and consult other local authorities about what action could be taken.

Safeguarding / Disability Awareness was considered extremely important, and it was recommended that appropriate facilitators were sourced to deliver this type of training, to include assessment exercises.  Incentive schemes (monetary) were also suggested to encourage drivers to adapt their vehicles for disability access etc.  Caution was aired, as this could lead to unfairness, and it was necessary that budgets were balanced.  Concern was raised regarding the issue of ‘tinted’ windows, and how drivers could ascertain their vehicle’s light transmission percentage.  The manufacturer’s vehicle specification should stipulate this information, plus officers had access to a light transmission testing machine.  Members were advised that the majority of other local authorities’ hackney carriage vehicles were colour distinctive, e.g. Hastings Borough Council – dark blue, with a crest.

Members were supportive of and agreed the recommendations as detailed in the report, with an additional recommendation for the consultation, namely 8) that all drivers received disability awareness, attitudes and behaviours and safeguarding training annually.  For clarity reasons, it was also suggested that the word ‘tinted’ be added after the word transmission in Recommendation 6).

The Committee agreed that the public consultation should be accessible to all relevant organisations / groups, was designed using the plain English guide and was user-friendly.  It was also  ...  view the full minutes text for item LG23/12.

Members received the report of the Senior Responsible Officer providing an update on surveillance activity over the previous year.  The Council had adopted a revised Regulation of Investigatory Procedures (RIPA) Policy in December 2023.

It was noted that there had been no use of legally approved surveillance powers in 2023; the last time the Council had applied for these powers was in 2015.  The Council owned and operated CCTV equipment on its own property, for the detection of crime and to deter crime.  Sussex Police legally had access to this information for investigative purposes. 

The Council’s RIPA Policy was detailed at Appendix A to the report.  Members were advised that staff had been RIPA trained which included the use of social media and investigation research.  The Council also had expertise in the Internal Audit Team to assist with researching unlicensed activities being advertised on social media platforms e.g. dog breeders (animal welfare), where required.  It was clarified that the training was not free (one-day course), but it was essential that all relevant staff who carried out investigations received this training, every three years or as soon as they were involved with investigative processes.  The Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety clarified that some Council senior officers had sufficient anti-terrorist level clearance to assist the Police with terrorist incidents.  Members were advised that from April 2024, a new wi-fi enabled CCTV system would be operational, where authorised Police officers could access recordings and images directly from their own laptops, without requiring authorisation from the Council. 

Members noted that the surveillance activity met the key recommendations of the Surveillance Commissioner’s report.  The next inspection was anticipated in 2026.

RESOLVED: That the Council’s 2023 annual update report on covert surveillance be noted.

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety which outlined the Council’s proposed licensing fees to be charged from 1 April 2024.  The fees were set to recover the full administration costs of issuing licences and costs associated with ensuring compliance with conditions attached to licences, but not the costs associated with the enforcement of unlicensed premises and activities.

Appendix A to the report set out the discretionary fees proposed to be charged from 1 April 2024, with changes highlighted in red.  Where fees were proposed to increase, they were to be increased by the consumer price index or higher, if justified.  The hiring of horse licence fees included the veterinary inspection costs, which increased substantially year-on-year.  In accordance with a European Court decision, it was clarified that animal welfare fees had to be split, one for processing the license application and one for granting the licence.  Members were also advised that animal welfare premises were star rated (similar to the Council’s Food Hygiene Rating Scheme).  Therefore, if a premises was rated ‘5’ stars they were fully compliant and would receive a 3-year licence and would only be inspected every three years.  A lower rating meant that inspections would be more frequent.  Higher ratings were more advantageous for the organisation / premises, as they indicated that they offered higher / enhanced facilities etc.  The fees set by the Licensing Act 2003 had not been increased, despite requests by the Local Government Association.  Maximum fees under the Gambling Act 2005 were also set by statute.  The Council charged the maximum amounts.

Environmental Health was a shared service with Wealden District Council, therefore the Council aimed to charge the same fees for licences issued for Rother and Wealden premises, although each authority set its own fees.  The Council’s fees were comparable to other similar sized local authorities.

The Chair thanked the Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety and his team for their hard work and advised that a review of the licensing staff resources would be completed at the end of 2024.

RESOLVED: That the licensing fees and charges set out in Appendix A be approved and applied from 1 April 2024.