Dundee Licensing Forum - 06/12/2011

At a MEETING of the DUNDEE LICENSING FORUM held at Dundee on 6th December, 2011.

Present:-

Dundee Licensing Forum

Dundee Licensing Board

Bailie Rod WALLACE

Councillors

Chris SLOAN, Convener, in the Chair.

Prior to the commencement of business, the Chairman welcomed a number of community representatives who were attending the meeting, as observers, and expressed the hope that they would find it interesting and informative.

I WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chairman welcomed two new members to the Forum, Mr Matt Landsburgh representing Dundee Youth Council, and Mr Paul Howie representing the off-sales sector.

II APOLOGIES

Apologies were intimated from Councillors Guild, Fordyce and Gordon.

III MINUTE OF MEETING OF DUNDEE LICENSING FORUM OF 6TH SEPTEMBER, 2011

The minute of the above meeting was submitted and approved.

IV OVERPROVISION

Kirsty Licence advised that a small working group had met on three occasions to consider overprovision with a view to suggesting recommendations that the Forum might make to the Licensing Board in this connection. They had gathered in a substantial amount of information and hoped to submit a draft report to the next Licensing Forum meeting.

Jonathan Stewart advised that the Licensed Trade's position both locally and nationally was that the only real solution to the problem of overprovision was to impose a moratorium on new licences.

V MINIMUM PRICING OF ALCOHOL - UPDATE

It was reported that the Scottish Government were once again consulting on the above proposal and whilst the Forum had not been formally consulted, it might wish to forward comments.

The Forum noted comments previously submitted by the Forum and the Board and the Board's response to the latest consultation and remitted to the Secretary to write to the Scottish Government in similar terms supporting the introduction of a minimum price of 50p per unit.

VI DUNDEE FOCUS ON ALCOHOL - UPDATE

There was submitted a report detailing progress made to date by the Dundee Focus on Alcohol Project, which had been established in January, 2011 and was currently funded for two years by the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership.

The Forum noted the initiatives carried out to date and those which were proposed for the future. They also noted the publicity material produced and were invited to contact Katrina Finnon to obtain any material.

It was suggested that a training pack might be prepared for use by secondary teachers in social education classes.

VII TRAINING FOR NEW MEMBERS

It was reported that Alcohol Focus Scotland had offered to deliver local training to Forum members. It was suggested that Licensing Board members might wish to participate and it was remitted to Carole Robertson to progress this matter.

VIII POSSIBLE MANDATORY CONDITIONS FOR ON-SALES PREMISES AND OCCASIONAL LICENCES

Reference was made to Article X of the minute of meeting of the Forum of 6th September, 2011, wherein it was agreed to defer the decision on any proposals recommending conditions for on-sales and occasional licences to the Licensing Board to the next meeting of the Forum to allow consideration of recommendations drafted by Senior Solicitor (Licensing) relative to the imposition of conditions.

The Senior Solicitor (Licensing) advised that there were two aspects of this issue, being the attachment of conditions to new licences, and variation of the conditions of existing licences.

With existing licences, Section 10 of the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Act 2010 gives Boards a new power to vary the conditions of premises licence, but only where these relate to such matters as are prescribed by Scottish Ministers in regulations. This can be done in relation to all or any premises licences in the Board's area. As yet, no such regulations had been proposed so the Board was prevented at the moment from varying existing premises licences, other than following a premises licence review hearing under Section 39(2)(b) of the 2005 Act.

Regarding new licences, the types of condition which may be added were restricted by the terms of Section 27 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The Board may not impose a condition which is inconsistent with any of the mandatory or prescribed conditions attached to premises licences by virtue of Section 27(1) or (5). The Board was also not allowed to attach any conditions which would have the effect of making any of the mandatory or prescribed conditions more onerous and, finally, the Board could not attach any conditions relating to matters covered by other legislation (eg planning, building control and food hygiene).

The Forum therefore agreed to recommend to the Board to attach the undernoted local mandatory conditions in respect of new licences:-

1 The premises must be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition.

2 The structure of the premises and the fixtures and fittings associated with the premises must be in a sound condition, must be kept clean and be properly maintained.

3 Where adjustments have been made for disabled persons such as wheelchair lifts, these must be available for use and maintained so that they are safe and operational. Disabled toilets must be kept clear and free from obstruction and not be used for storing equipment such as baby/toddler high chairs.

4 Blocked toilets and urinals must be put out of order and thereafter restored to effective working order as soon as possible.

5 Missing locks or lock catches or ill fitting doors on toilet cubicles must be restored to working order as soon as possible.

6 Matted or ingrained carpets must be thoroughly cleaned by shampooing. Worn carpets that are no longer capable or being cleaned must be replaced.

7 Dirty or stained seating upholstery must be thoroughly cleaned by shampooing. Worn, torn or punctured seating upholstery that is no longer capable of being cleaned must be repaired effectively or replaced.

8 Internal decor including wallpaper, paintwork, window blinds and curtains must be maintained in clean and good condition.

9 The entire premises both internally and externally must be kept free from graffiti.

10 Provide suitable facilities for the appropriate disposal of cigarette/tobacco related litter for the use of patrons who smoke outside the premises.

11 Maintain in a clean condition the areas to the exterior of the premises where patrons smoke. Including removing discarded cigarette/tobacco related litter from the pavement outside the premises.

It also agreed to ask that consideration be given to the attachment of the undernoted training conditions to occasional licences in future:-

Any person working in a capacity which involves that person in

(a) making sales of alcohol, or

(b) where alcohol is sold on the premises for consumption on the premises, serving such alcohol to any person

must have received relevant training from a person who at the time of providing the training holds:-

(i) a personal licence, or

(ii) a qualification accredited for the purposes of The Licensing (Training of Staff) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

'Relevant training' in this context means training of at least two hours duration which covers each of the following matters:-

(1) The licensing objective.

(2) The definition of 'alcohol' in the Act.

(3) What constitutes an unlicensed sale.

(4) The functions of Licensing Standards Officers.

(5) Licensed hours under Part 5 of the Act.

(6) Offences under the Act, particularly those involving persons under the age of 18.

(7) Proof of age under sections 102 and 108 of the Act and the Sale of Alcohol to Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

(8) Test purchasing of alcohol under section 105(2) of the Act.

(9) Best practice as regards standards of service and refusing service.

(10) Units of alcohol and the relationship between units and strength of different alcoholic drinks.

(11) The sensible drinking limits for males and females recommended by the British Medical Association.

(12) Good practice in managing conflict status.

IX LICENSING FORUM REVIEW

It was reported that a questionnaire had been circulated to Forum members and the Chair gave a brief summary of the results.

Issues identified included lack of communication with other agencies, particularly trade members who were not on the Forum, or in the Licensed Trade Association. It was agreed that consideration be given to the use of the internet in this connection.

Another issue appeared to be a lack of representation from certain interest groups. Whilst the areas of youth and off-trade had been addressed, there was no representation from education or the community, or from the larger managed pub chains. With regard to community representation, John Hosie would consult with community representatives with a view to bringing a proposal to the next meeting of the Forum. The Secretary would contact the Director of Education with a view to seeking a representative from that Department.

Any other views and comments should be submitted to the Chair. (casloan@dusa.co.uk).

X 2012 MEETING DATES

The undernoted dates were proposed for 2012:-

Tuesday, 6th March, 2012

Tuesday, 5th June, 2012

Tuesday, 4th September, 2012

Tuesday, 4th December, 2012

All meetings are at 2.00 pm in the City Chambers, City Square, Dundee.

The Forum noted that additional meetings may be called, as required.