The Committee resolved to elect Councillor Mary Clarkson to be the Chair for the Council Year 2014/15.

In the absence of the Chair, Councillor Van Coulter was appointed to chair the meeting.

The Committee resolved to DEFER the election of the Vice Chair for the Council Year 2014/15 to the next meeting.

Apologies for absence were received by Cllr Clarkson.

Councillors serving on the Committee are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in any of the following agenda items.

None

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report that establishes Sub-Committees for the 2014-15 Council Year; to deal with the casework flowing from the Committee’s own responsibilities.

Recommendations: That the Committee:

(1)(a)  Establish a Hackney Carriages and Private hire Licensing Sub-Committee for the Council Year 2014-15, to agree its powers and duties and to appoint members to it on the basis of political balance;

(b)  Note that the quorum for the Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee is two and to agree the proviso that the Sub-Committee can only proceed on this basis if the person appearing before the Sub-Committee agrees;

(2)(a)  Establish a Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee for the Council Year 2014-15, to agree its powers and duties and to appoint members to it on the basis of political balance;

(b)  Note that the quorum for the Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee is two and to agree to the introduction of a proviso that the Sub-Committee can only proceed at quorum or with three members if the person appearing before the Sub-Committee agrees;

(3)       Agree that substitution is permitted on the two Sub-Committees but that substitutes must be from the Committee itself.

The Head of Law and Governance submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) that established Sub-Committees for the 2014-15 Council Year; to deal with the casework flowing from the Committee’s own responsibilities.

The following corrections to the report were made:

1.    Paragraph 1: report should read “for the 2014/15 council year”

2.    Paragraph 5: the committee is asked to continue with the current convention of 2 member sub-committees requiring the consent of the person appearing before it.

3.    Paragraph 7: The Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee should consist of the following political makeup: 2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 Green member. 

The Committee resolved to:

(1)(a)  Establish a Hackney Carriages and Private hire Licensing Sub-Committee for the Council Year 2014-15, agree its powers and duties and to appoint Cllrs Clarkson, Cook and Royce to it on the basis of political balance.

(b)  Note that the quorum for the Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee is two, but that the Sub-Committee can only proceed on this basis if the person appearing before the Sub-Committee agrees;

(c)   Agree that the meetings of the Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee would begin at 5.30 pm.

(2)(a)  Establish a Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee for the Council Year 2014-15, agree its powers and duties and to appoint Cllrs Clarkson, Coulter, Royce and Wolff  to it on the basis of political balance;

(b)  Note that the quorum for the Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee is two, but that the Sub-Committee can only proceed at quorum or with three members if the person appearing before the Sub-Committee agrees;

(c)   Agree that the meetings of the Licensing and Registration Licensing Sub-Committee would begin at 5.00 pm.

(3)       Agree that substitution is permitted on the two Sub-Committees but that substitutes must be from the Committee itself.

The Head of Environmental Development has submitted a report which informs the Committee of the progress made by the Taxi Licensing Function during the Council Year 2013/14.

Recommendations That the Committee:

(1)       Notes the contents of the report;

(2)       Makes any comments and recommendations regarding the future work of the Taxi Licensing Function.

The Head of Environmental Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which informed the Committee of the progress made by the Taxi Licensing Function during the Council Year 2013/14.

The following comments were made:

·         The delays in court prosecutions are mainly due to the court listings.

·         A one page information sheet to increase awareness of child sex exploitation with be inserted in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers application pack.

The Committee resolved to NOTE the contents of the report.

The Head of City Development has submitted a report which details a report on the draft Street Trading Policy 2014. 

Recommendations: That the Committee:

i) notes the content of the report and approve the draft Street Trading Policy;

ii) authorises the Head of Environmental Development to undertake a public consultation on the reviewed Street Trading Policy.

The Head of City Development submitted a report (previously circulated now appended) which detailed a report on the draft Street Trading Policy 2014. 

 The following comments were made:

·         Welcomed the condition for all food packaging to be biodegradable once traders have used up their current supply.

·         Concern was raised about statutory consultees not replying during consultations and the default being that this implied consent.  Officers explained the process they went through to encourage consultees to respond.

·         Better for the draft policy to restrict street trading consents near schools, by stating a set distance from schools rather than the broader “on the school route”

·         Restrictions of A-Boards have not been included in the draft policy because A-Boards are a planning control issue.

·         The new condition requiring street traders to have at least a 3 star food hygiene rating is the best way to make sure food preparation is safe. Food Safety Officers do frequent checks of street traders to make sure food hygiene standards are maintained.

The Committee resolved to:

1. NOTE the content of the report and approve the draft Street Trading Policy;

2. AUTHORISE the Head of Environmental Development to undertake a public consultation on the reviewed Street Trading Policy.

Minutes from 21 January 2014.

Recommendation: That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2014 be APPROVED as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2014 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee is asked to note the following dates on which it is scheduled to meet and to confirm the start time of its meetings for the remainder of the Council Year 2014/15.

Tuesday 23^rd September 2014

Tuesday 27^th January 2015

The Committee resolved to NOTE the following dates on which it is scheduled to meet and to confirm the start time of 6.15pm for the remainder of the Council Year 2014/15.

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Tuesday 27 January 2015