Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report describes the work of the Licensing and Out of Hours Team.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) that provided an overview of the activity undertaken by the Licensing and Out of Hours Compliance Team which is part of the Compliance and Enforcement Service.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction to the service;

·         Discussion of the key areas of demand on the service;

·         Data on the number of requests for service (RFS), noting that in 23/24 the team received a total of 6,284 RFS, an increase of 47% since 2016/17 when the service was introduced;

·         Examples of proactive activities, including case studies of this work;

·         Describing the activity associated with Licensing Applications, noting that there had been a combined total of 2,470 licence applications dealt with by the team in 2023/24; and

·         Consideration of challenges and future initiatives.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Noting the significant breadth of activity the service engaged in;

·         How were resources deployed and priorities identified;

·         As the city grew there would be a need to increase capacity in the service as demand would grow;

·         What was the approach to assessing Temporary Event Notice (TEN) applications;

·         What is the response rate to noise complaints from residents, particularly in student areas;

·         Noting the shift patterns used and the extensive coverage this provided;

·         What was the approach to street pedlars, particularly on Market Street;

The Head of Compliance Enforcement and Community Safety stated that priorities were agreed in consultation with Executive and local Members, as reflected in service plans, wider council strategies and policies and in accordance with statutory guidance. She paid tribute to the staff working across the service, commenting that they had a wealth of knowledge and experience and engaged positively with Councillors and residents to respond to issues and manage expectations when responding to issues. She commented that approximately a third of the work undertaken by staff was proactive and staff worked flexibly to accommodate their duties. She said that the licensing objectives were used when assessing the merits of any TEN application and objections would be submitted when considered appropriate to do so. She commented that they would work with organisers and monitor any event if a TEN was granted. She said that the team would always endeavour to respond to a noise complaint in a timely manner, however this would always depend on where staff were deployed at the time of a report being received e.g. if they received a call for a job in south Manchester but were currently dealing with a job in North Manchester it would take them some time to address the job they were dealing with and get to the other side of the city. Also the volume of jobs received in any night would also dictate how quickly they could respond. She commented that all complaints were followed up and the appropriate action taken. In regard to Street Pedlars she said that these were not required to be licensed but were subject to antiquated legislation that required them to obtain a certificate, which could be obtained from any police force in the country, and this allowed them to sell throughout the UK. She commented that the Manchester City Council Act 2010 did provide some additional controls to manage pedlars locally, including the seizure of goods (excluding food and other perishable items ) and patrols and monitoring of Market Street were routinely undertaken. 

The Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods thanked the Committee for their many positive comments expressed regarding the service and the staff, she said that it was important for the Committee to recognise the significant amount of work undertaken by staff in often challenging and dangerous situations. She commented that she had witnessed this when accompanying staff when they were undertaking their duties. Noting the comment regarding the increasing population of the city and the corresponding increase in requests for services she said that a business case was being prepared with a view to increasing capacity across the service.

The Committee noted that Fiona Sharkey, Head of Compliance Enforcement and Community Safety would be retiring from the Council after 37 years of service to the city. The Committee and all those present expressed their gratitude to her and wished her a long and happy retirement.

Decision

To note the report.