Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Pippas.

No interests were declared.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2016.

The minutes of the meeting of the 18^th July 2016 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

There were no public questions.

The Committee received a report from the Licensing & Enforcement Manager which sought approval of the final Sex Establishment Licensing Policy attached as Appendix C to the report. The Committee then debated the Officer’s report.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

     i.        In 2001, there had been a long debate about the initial policy. At that point there had been three establishments in the City, there was now only one remaining. There appeared to be little demand for this sort of venue locally.

    ii.        Suggested that the costs of the required consultation would be hard to justify when there was no demonstrable need for a nil policy.

   iii.        Expressed concerns that any selling of sexual activities increased the risk of violence towards women and girls.

  iv.        Suggested that there was a drop in demand for live events as the availability of pornography on the internet expanded.

   v.        Suggested that a nil policy might encourage venues to move to nearby villages which fell under South Cambs District Council regulations.

The Licensing & Enforcement Manager stated that a recent judgement (Court of Appeal v Peterborough [City of]) had ruled that a nil policy could not be applied to an entire city.

In response to Members’ questions the Licensing & Enforcement Manager said the following:

     i.        The estimated cost of a nil policy consultation had been based on the work of London Boroughs.

    ii.        Should a nil policy be introduced after a Licence had been granted, it would be difficult to revoke that Licence.

   iii.        All applications would be considered on their own merits.

  iv.        Infrequent events were not licensable activities and a nil policy would not apply to those events.

   v.        One off events such as stag or hen events or burlesque evenings would not be licensable as they fell into the infrequent events category and were covered by different legislative acts.

The Committee considered amending the Sex Establishment Licence conditions to remove references to Christian holidays. However, no representations had been received regarding this or any other religious holidays. Members acknowledged that any future application would be considered on its merits and that local communities would have the opportunity to raise such concerns at that point.

The Committee:

Resolved (unanimously)

     i.        Noted the results of the public consultation exercise as summarised as Appendix B of the Officer’s report.

    ii.        Approved the final Sex Establishment Licensing Policy attached as Appendix C to the Officer’s report having taken into consideration the comments contained in paragraphs 3.5 to 3.14 of the report and Appendix B.

3. Resolved that the policy should have immediate effect and should be reviewed at least every five years.

The Committee received a report from the Licensing & Enforcement Manager regarding delegated officer decision making in respect of the Taxi Policy and update of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee then debated the Officer’s report.

In response to Members’ questions the Licensing & Enforcement Manager said the following:

     i.        Should an error be made, the decision could be reviewed and or taken to a Sub-Committee for a final decision.

    ii.        Confirmed that enforcement issues would always be referred to a Sub-Committee for decision.

   iii.        Delegated decisions would only apply to clear cut issues such as: a driver failing a medical examination or the age of the vehicle.

  iv.        Any issues where there was room for discretion, such as exceptional circumstances, would be referred to a Sub-Committee.

The Committee:

Resolved (unanimously)

     i.        Approved the delegated decision making process in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as outlined in the table below. 

    ii.        Amended the constitution as outlined in the table below: 

The Committee received a report from the Licensing & Enforcement Manager regarding the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

The Committee then debated the Officer’s report.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

     i.        Welcomed the increased training requirements around safeguarding, domestic violence and equalities. Suggested that these should also be offered to bus drivers.

    ii.        Welcomed the move towards greener technologies.

   iii.        Acknowledged that there was currently no suitable electric vehicle with wheelchair access.

  iv.        Praised the work that officers had done to engage the taxi trade in on-going improvements and acknowledged the initial work on this matter undertaken by former City Councillor, Councillor Rosenstiel.

In response to Members’ questions the Licensing & Enforcement Manager said the following:

     i.        Although they had not formally responded to the consultation process, the taxi trade had been consulted and were supportive of the proposals.

    ii.        All drivers were required to complete Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks every three years.

   iii.        Enforcement was robust within Cambridge.

  iv.        South Cambs District Council currently operated under slightly different rules.

The Committee noted an additional recommendation as follows:

The policy will be effective for a maximum of 5 years but will be kept under constant review.

The Committee:

Resolved (unanimously)

     i.        To adopt the draft policy attached as Appendix E of the officer’s report to the report as Cambridge City Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy with immediate effect.

    ii.        Noted the contents of the “Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Handbook” (Appendix F) and agree that this is adopted as an operational guide to the policy with immediate effect.

   iii.        Agreed the exceptions to the changes with immediate effect as detailed in the implementation plan below:

  iv.        The policy would be effective for a maximum of 5 years but would be kept under constant review.