Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing Council year.

It was moved by Councillor S R Nicholas, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That Councillor B W Butcher be elected Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing Council year.

To appoint a Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing Council year.

It was moved by Councillor A R Smith, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:   That Councillor R J Thompson be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing Council year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P S Le Chevalier and S C Manion.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the latter case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the attached Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 26 February 2013.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 26 February 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive the attached Minutes of the meetings of Licensing Sub-Committees held on 3 April 2013 and 19 April 2013.

The Minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Sub-Committees held on 3 April 2013 and 19 April 2013 were received and noted.

To consider the attached report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The Committee considered the report of the Democratic Services Manager which suggested the composition of the five Licensing Sub-Committees. It took into account previous practice, the need to avoid conflicts of interest for Ward Members and for newly appointed Members to gain experience.

RESOLVED:    That the five Licensing Committees and their Chairmen for the ensuing Council year be as follows:

                         (a)        Councillors B W Butcher (Chairman), S C Manion and M A Russell

                         (b)        Councillors P M Beresford (Chairman), S R Nicholas and J M Smith

                         (c)        Councillors A R Smith (Chairman), M J Ovenden and P Walker

                         (d)        Councillors P S Le Chevalier (Chairman), B Gardner and C J Smith

                         (e)        Councillors S M Le Chevalier (Chairman), R J Thompson and J A Cronk

To consider the attached report of the Director of Governance.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Governance identifying the range of options to the Licensing Committee in respect of its frequency of scheduled meetings.  The Council's licensing functions were primarily exercised through the five Licensing Sub-Committees and the consequence of this was that the Licensing Committee had little in the way of regular business to transact which has resulted in a number of meetings of a very short duration.

The Committee considered the options set out in the report.  The consensus of opinion was that the Licensing Committee should meet prior to a meeting of Council and that the starting time should be reflective of the amount of business to transact.

Councillor B Gardner asked that officers look to reduce the size of the Committee membership in the coming year 2014/15 and the Committee was advised that it be composed of at least 10 members.

RESOLVED:    That the Licensing Committee meet prior to meeting of the Council and that the starting time be arranged by the Democratic Support section, in conjunction with the Chairman, once the business to be transacted is known.