Minutes:
Prior to
consideration of the draft policy statement, Susan Mair advised that she had
had discussions with the Scottish Executive who have advised that they intend
to distribute information packs on the new Act to all licensees at the
beginning of December. She also advised
that they had indicated a willingness to participate in any
training/information events which may be organised locally by the Licensing
Board. The members agreed that this
would be of considerable assistance as many licensee are unaware of the full
implications of the new Act. Gordon Tran
suggested that the minutes of the Local Licensing Forum go to the Licensing
Board and a meeting be arranged with them in the new year. Kenneth Harrison suggested that the members
of the Local Licensing Forum be trained on the new Act before the licensees as
it is their place to explain proposals to the licensees. Susan Mair then explained that she hoped to
get a series of training days organised early in the new year. The purpose of those would be to inform
licensees of the relevant provisions of the new Act and to provide guidance on
the completion of applications and associated operating plans.
In
connection with the constitution, Susan Mair apologised for the delay in this being
issued but intended to have it available for the next meeting.
As the
vacancy on the Local Licensing Forum has not yet been filled, Callum
MacLachlainn felt that they require some sort of representation from younger
people, i.e 18-25. The members suggested
several ways in which the post could be advertised. Louise suggested posters at
Susan Mair
then left the meeting for the discussion of the draft policy statement. The Chairman agreed to go through the policy
statement first with the members of the forum to highlight the points which
they wanted to discuss and draw to the attention of the Licensing Board.
On page 4 of the policy statement
On page 5, the last paragraph, it was agreed that the
statement was unclear. After discussion,
Gordon Tran proposed that it be deleted.
This was agreed by the forum.
In 5.3(i), the fifth bullet point which states that the licensee could
consider involvement in a local PubWatch or similar scheme to demonstrate their
commitment to preventing crime and disorder on a wider community basis,
On page 9, the third bullet point states that there should, during
all operating times, be at least one member of staff on duty who has been
trained in first aid. Gordon suggested
that they get clarification if it is stated in the Act. When Susan returned, she confirmed that these
are just suggestions and the Board have no intention of making it mandatory. It was accepted by the members.
On page 9, in the seventh bullet point, Inspector Boyter was pleased that
the Board support the use of CCTV but felt that point 7 was very discouraging
for licensees. The members agreed that
CCTV should be encouraged but not a ‘must have’ as it is costly.
On page 9, second bullet point of (iii) concerned Callum MacLachlainn as he
is a licensee and said that he would be concerned if he asked his staff to
clean up rubbish which resulted in the occurrence of an accident for insurance
purposes. After discussion, it was
agreed that the members would propose to put a full stop after environment and
delete the rest of the paragraph, leaving the statement reading ‘All licensed
premises should demonstrate their commitment to a cleaner environment’. It was noted that the Environmental
Protection Act can be invoked by the Council should ‘rubbish’ be attributable
to the activities of the premises to ensure that the licensee is responsible
for cleaning up.
On page 10, with regard to the second bullet
point,
On page 10, Part (v), third bullet point,
On page 11, with regard to point 8.2, the members felt that the
licensing hours for on-sale premises was too late as it states that the sale of
alcohol for consumption shall be no earlier than 11am. Before which time there could be a funeral on
or shift workers visit the premises.
Gordon asked for confirmation from Susan where the hours came from. Susan informed the members that it is not in
the Act but it is a view expressed by the Board. Although the Board don’t have policies, Susan
advised that they make views as they are required to have some sort of
consistency. After much discussion on
that criterion, Gordon proposed that they discuss the matter with the Board.
On page 12 of the policy statement, section
(ii) raised concern
for the members. Callum MacLachlainn
expressed the fact that there is not enough money in small premises to provide
entertainment all week, therefore, they would have to close at the proposed
hours, resulting in a loss of money.
Inspector Boyter took a different approach to the statement and read it
as a guideline that could be extended by presenting a case to the Board,
providing the premises was well run.
After further discussion and a vote (6 to 3), the members agreed to put
the following proposal to the Board –
Standard
Hours for all on-sales but different hours for both earlier or later closing
can be applied for in the operating plan -
Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 12 midnight
Thursday,
Friday, Saturday – 1am
On page 14, point 8.6, the members agreed that they would
propose to remove the last sentence.
On page 15, point 9.1 suggests that the holder of a
premises licence, the holder of a personal licence and a representative of any
voluntary organisation may make an application for an occasional licence. James Buchannan suggested that anyone
applying for an occasional licence should be trained. In the interest of public safety, after
discussion, the members agreed to recommend that 9.1 (iii) and 9.7 be removed.
On page 21, section 19 part (iii) the members agreed to propose that
the wording be changed to
‘The
Licensing Board must provide any relevant statistical information requested by
the Forum’
On page 23, section 21.2