Licensing Committee
Each Partner Authority has a Committee for the purposes of licensing decisions and the setting of the following policies:
- Licensing Policy – for the purposes of the Licensing Act 2003.
- Policy – for the purposes of the Gambling Act 2005.
- All taxi and private hire matters.
All other policy matters are delegated to each of the Partners’ Licensing Committees as part of their Constitution.
Constitutional and procedural advice to the Licensing Committee is the responsibility of each Partner’s legal and associated democratic services teams. This maintains the in-house knowledge and consistency that members expect and that is appropriate for local accountability. This is also the case for any associated meetings in the delivery of the Licensing Committee.
For Sub-Committees, local members have full control of their delegated functions. The Service ensures that each and every case referred to the appropriate Sub-Committee is properly made and in accordance with the requirements of the relevant legislation.
Appeals and challenges to Licensing Committee decisions will be managed and defended by each Partner in line with their own policies. Any technical licensing advice required in the process will be provided by the Public Protection Partnership Service. This is to ensure that Members who make decisions are held to account by their own legal and financial services and it does not become a matter for the Joint Management Board. For example, an appeal to the Magistrates against a decision by a Partners licensing sub-Committee will be represented by the Partners own legal team and any costs incurred will be met by the Partner outside of the Service’s legal agreement.
