Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 4^th July 2018 having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

            The Committee considered a report from the Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport.

            The Committee were advised that on 30 July 2018 the Under Secretary of State for Transport wrote to Local Authorities informing them of the Inclusive Transport Strategy (the Strategy) that was published on 25 July.

            A small section of the Strategy deals with taxi and private hire licensing and issues arising from the report were set out in the agenda item. Members were informed that further reports to the Committee may arise depending on what the Department for Transport does in the future.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted. 

            The Committee considered a request to approve a Draft Statement of Gambling Policy for recommendation to the Council for adoption.

            The Committee was advised that only one response was received to the consultation process and that was from the Gambling Commission and consideration was given to the points raised by them.  Consequently, minor changes to the original draft were made to the section on bingo premises.

            RESOLVED: That having undertaken a consultation exercise the draft Statement of Gambling Policy as amended be approved by the Committee and be recommended to Council for adoption. An appropriate form of wording for the Council resolution would be: “The Council:

1.    adopts the Statement of Gambling Policy attached to the report to come into effect immediately following the expiry of the current Policy; and

2.    directs that the Operational Director Legal and Democratic Services to publish the Statement in accordance with section 349 Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006.”

PART II

In this case the Board has a discretion to exclude the press and public and, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, it is RECOMMENDED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, having been satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

The Committee considered:

(1)  Whether Members of the press and public should be excluded from the meeting of the Board during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Sub-Section 4 of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be considered, exempt information would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972; and

(2)  Whether the disclosure of information was in the public interest, whether any relevant exemptions were applicable and whether, when applying the public interest test and exemptions, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed that in disclosing the information.

            RESOLVED: That as, in all the circumstances of the following items only of the Committee Agenda,  the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Sub-Section 4 of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that, in view of the nature of the business, exempt information would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Case No   

            A Single Status Drivers Licence be issued and a written reprimand given for the failure to disclose convictions.  The written reprimand to remain on the applicants file.

Case: No

As the applicant failed to attend the meeting the Committee could not be satisfied that the applicant was a fit and proper person to be granted a licence. Consequently the applicant would be given one more chance to attend the next meeting of the Committee on 28 November 2018.  If the applicant fails to attend on that date the Operational Director Legal and Democratic Services be given authority to refuse the application.

Case  No

A restricted Single Status Drivers Licence be issued and a written reprimand be given for the failure to disclose convictions.  The written reprimand to remain on the applicants file.