Agenda item

32.1

Four questions had been received that related to the remit of the Committee. Written responses had been sent to the questioners and published on the Council’s website.

32.2

Two supplementary questions had been received relating to remit questions. A written response to the supplementary question from Marion Gerson was published on the Council’s website.

32.3

A response to the supplementary question from Rosa Vince was given by the Chair as follows;

·       The Chair thanked Ms Vince for attending the meeting and submitting their question.

·       The Licensing regime is not based on public opinion, it is there to meet specific objectives such as the prevention of crime and disorder etc and the decisions taken on adopting licences must be made based on the evidence provided.

·       Under a nil limit, it is still possible to make an application for a license and the decision on whether to grant the application would take regard of the policy and be based on the merits of the individual case.

·       One of the aims of a nil limit policy is to prevent a situation of exploitation arising and therefore a worker run establishment could potentially be a preferred situation.

·       The purpose of updating the policy is to give greater confidence that venues are meeting the conditions required for them to be considered a safe place to work.

·       The Chair agreed to highlight to officers the point made that an unlicensed venue may not meet all the necessary conditions and therefore would prevent a greater risk. This should be reflected in the equality impact assessment.

A written response would be provided and published on the Council’s website

32.4

No agenda-related questions, statements or petitions had been received.