Agenda and draft minutes

The Clerk welcomed everyone to the meeting and issued the safety information.

Apologies were received from Councillor Chris Davies and Councillor Tessa Fitzjohn.

None received.

To confirm as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

RESOLVED the minutes of the previous meetings of 27 July 2021 and 14 December 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by5 pm on 30 May 2022

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on 6 June 2022

None received.

The clerk introduced the annual report and highlighted the following points:

·       Cllr Farah Hussain is not able to sit on the committee due to availability issues. The Labour Group will nominate another member to sit on the committee, which will be confirmed as soon as possible.

·       The Terms of Reference are the same as last year as there has been no change in legislation.

·       The membership of Sub-Committee A will remain the same. The two new members of committee (Cllr Townsend and Labour Councillor TBC) will join Sub-Committee B to replace the two previous members that have stepped down.

RESOLVED the report was NOTED.

The Licensing Team Leader gave a verbal update on the previous year’s business following the new policy implementation.

·       The Public Safety and Protection Committee considered around 80 cases in 2021/22.

·       For cases involving vehicle licences, 11 were granted and 14 were refused. Departing from policy needs to be justified, but it is important to note the heavy disruption to the trade caused by Covid related issues. There were some extensions granted in these circumstances.

·       74% of cases heard were for drivers. 25 decisions were to grant the application, 42 were to refuse and 1 was deferred. Warning letters were issued to 6 drivers.

·       The committee is performing well, with all but one case being determined. Grant decisions were often made by considering how to apply the new broader policy in cases with minor offences.

·       Members almost always made unanimous decisions. This shows the effectiveness of policy and political neutrality of members.

·       The committee departed from policy in 32% of cases. This is low under the circumstances of a new policy. This figure will probably reduce next year.

·       It is difficult to get comparative statistics with other authorities due to the high workloads being experienced by licensing teams across the country. 

·       The legal officer confirmed that their team could provide data on appeals for the Annual General Meeting next year. Drivers have the right to appeal against the decision of the committee in a Magistrate’s Court. There are only a few cases where decisions were challenged. Of these, 3 decisions were overturned. This was due to unreliable witnesses, not PSP making policy errors.