Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Licensing Committee - Monday, 21st October, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions

Contact: Callum Jones 

Media

Items
No. Item

5.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 96 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024.

Minutes:

Decision

 

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024 as a correct record.

6.

Review of Gambling Statement of Principles pdf icon PDF 101 KB

The report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing, which presented information to the Committee with the proposed revision of the Council’s Statement of Principles for Gambling in Manchester 2025-28.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer introduced the report and outlined the key points and updates for consideration. The Committee was invited to provide any comment on the policy for the attention of the Licensing Policy Committee at their meeting next month. Following this report being presented at the Licensing Policy Committee meeting it would then go to Council for approval and publication.

 

The Committee commented and posed questions as follows:

 

  • The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) had stated that there were no links between advertisements and harm. This seemed unlikely and the Principal Licensing Officer was asked to feed back with further information on this claim’s origin
  • There were 110,000 employees in the UK in the betting and gaming industry. Was there anything to assist them with potential harm from their line of work and were they more likely to get involved in gambling?
  • Online gambling presents an additional problem. Has any additional work been done as well as any changes made to the code?
  • Figures for harm from gambling in Greater Manchester were double that of the national average, which was concerning and impacted on the NHS. Where had these figures been sourced from?

 

The Principal Licensing Officer stated that it was not illegal for staff to gamble on the premises of their workplace, adding that the Licensing Conditions and Code of Practice (LCCP) ensure conditions apply across all operators. This code of practice would provide staff with knowledge around safer gambling and resources. Some accredited training would be launched next year and, currently, individual premises arrange training for staff. The 2007 Gambling Act gave regard to online gambling and this is being addressed nationally. Information on figures for Greater Manchester and National averages had not been provided.

 

The Committee agreed to consider and provide their comments for the attention of the Licensing Policy Committee.

 

Decision

 

1.     To note the report subject to the comments outlined above.

2.     To agree that the comments shall be circulated to members of the Licensing Policy Committee prior to being circulated to Full Council for approval and publication.

7.

Licensing Update pdf icon PDF 118 KB

The report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing, which presented a topical update on the revised Martyn’s Law bill and the proposed revision of the Council’s Policy for Street Trading.

 

Update on the Martyn’s Law bill

 

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the update on the revised Martyn’s Law bill, explaining that this addressed public safety and protection in public places. This has been developed in conjunction with licensed premises and the draft legislation was announced last year. The new Labour Government stated that part of their manifesto was to bring this law into effect. The report covered key changes and the two tier approach for Standard and Enhanced duties. These were based on venue capacities previously but now altered to consider the expectation of the number of people who would be present at any time. This could be calculated by using ticket sales info, seating capacity etc. Standard duties would be for events of 200+ attendees (previously 100+) and Enhanced duties for 800+ attendees. The duties were based around procedures to respond to a terrorist incident on the premises or in the vicinity. Evacuating and invacuating (bringing people into safety) were included as well as staff and customer communications. Larger venues were considered higher risk due to the number of attendees and staff on site. Public protection measures were required for; monitoring, toughened glass, CCTV, security and staffing as well as observing for hostile reconnaissance for potential attacks. The key message was that this law has to be reasonably practicable for any business as different businesses will have different capabilities. The other key announcement was of the proposed regulator being the Security Industry Authority (S.I.A.). The bill was currently making its way through the Parliamentary process.

 

The Committee was invited to comment or ask questions.

 

Councillor Connolly stated that Manchester City Council and the Licensing Committee had always supported and promoted this campaign, sharing in and providing their knowledge and understanding of the situation whilst supporting businesses. A number of Councillors had undergone training, provided by partners and Councillor Connolly thanked Officers for their support in this.

 

The Chair of Licensing thanked the Principal Licensing Officer for his work on this bill and congratulated him as the bill had gone through a second reading in Parliament.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer stated that it had been a team effort and added that the Action to Counter Terrorism (ACT) training had remained popular with licensed premises and attendee figures had exceeded 2,500.

 

Proposed revision of the Council’s Policy for Street Trading

 

The Principal Licensing Officer stated that this section of the report was regarding the intention to revise the Council's Street Trading Policy. There was no draft document at this stage.

 

The Committee was invited to comment or ask questions.

 

The Chair of Licensing stated that it was welcome to see residential areas being considered for inclusion in the policy.

 

Decision

 

The Committee reviewed the information in the report and provided comments.