Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Dabell, Councillor Laband and Councillor Marsh.

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The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 4 December 2018 and 22 May 2019 were confirmed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

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Tom Clark, Head of Regulatory Services introduced the report which gave an overview of the work of the Licensing Team.  He noted that their remit was more than taxi and alcohol licensing.  The work completed by the team was dependent on the work that comes in.  Last year there was more taxi licensing work which included drivers of disabled taxis appearing before Sub Committee and there will be at least one alcohol licensing panel shortly. He noted that new Animal Welfare Policy will be at Committee in September.  Paul Thornton, Senior Licensing Officer presented each section of the report.

Animal Welfare

He informed Committee about the history of the Animal Welfare Policy and legislation dating back to 1925.  A recent comprehensive update by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provided detailed guidance notes for local authorities and licensees.   He confirmed it had created a lot of work but all licenses were issued on time.  The maximum licence is 3 years with a compulsory inspection for all applications and the legislation states that the Council must charge fees on a cost recovery basis.  The fees are calculated on the time it takes to process an application, including the time to inspect the premises and includes any appeal or re-inspection.  The highest star rating for new applications is two stars. The Committee were advised that new legislation was due in April 2020 to stop the puppy farming. In future the public will have to buy from registered breeders or rescue centres.

The Senior Licensing Officer clarified that the license is held by a person at a specific address.  He noted the team receive many enquiries about dog walkers but there is no provision for dog walkers to have a licence. Exotic animals are covered by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act and no licences have been issued in Mid Sussex. He confirmed that once close to expiry all licensees must reapply to renew their licence. The new policy encourages businesses to be compliant.  For inspections involving horses the officers must be accompanied by a vet and the vet charges the applicant separately.  The same process applies for dog breeder licences.

Taxi Licensing

Tom Clark, Head of Regulatory Services confirmed that by 2022 all Hackney carriage licensed vehicles will be white so the public can identify them easily.  It is also a safety measure and makes the fleet look more professional.

Alcohol Licensing

A Member asked whether the Liquor Panel would be more likely to approve an application if representations have been made.  The Senior Licensing Officer noted that under the law it is presumed the licence will be granted unless there is satisfactory information to refuse it but this is only for alcohol licenses.  The representations, a 28 day consultation process, consultation of statutory bodies, advert at the application site and a public notice in a newspaper are all part of the legislation. The Police do comment and may want conditions. If the representations are agreed by all parties there is no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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