The Licensing Committee of Hammersmith and Fulham Council met on Monday 12 June 2023 to review the Licensing Team's annual report and discuss operational matters. The committee noted the contents of the report, which detailed the team's work and performance between April 2022 and March 2023, and agreed to exclude the public and press for the discussion of exempt items.

Annual Licensing Committee Report April 2022 to March 2023

The committee received a comprehensive report on the work and performance of the Licensing Team for the financial year 2022-2023. The report, presented by Adrian Overton, Licensing Team Manager, along with Karen Layard, Licensing Policy and Administration Manager Team Leader, and Laura McKenna, Licensing Compliance Officer, covered various aspects of the team's operations.

Key areas discussed included:

• Licensable Activities: The team regulates the sale or supply of alcohol, regulated entertainment (such as live music and films), late-night refreshment (sale of hot food and drinks after 11 pm), gambling premises, sex establishments, scrap metal dealers, and markets and street trading. It was noted that market and street trading now sits within regulatory services in the environment department following a restructure.
• Team Restructure and Relocation: The Licensing Team has moved from the Environment Directorate to the Economy Directorate, now sitting within the Planning Service. This move, effective from May 2023, aims to increase economic activity and allow licensing and planning staff to share best practices and work more closely on new applications and developments. Planning colleagues will now attend the fortnightly Licensing Action Group meetings.
• Staffing Updates: The report highlighted several staffing changes, including Laura McKenna temporarily filling the Licensing Compliance Officer role due to maternity cover, the recruitment of a second Licensing Enforcement Officer, James Dinsmore, and Sophia Barrett starting a regulatory compliance officer apprenticeship. Karen Layard is acting as the Licensing Policy and Administration Team Leader.
• Market Service Update: Despite the market service now being part of the environment department, the report provided an update on its activities. This included the regulation of nearly 120 pitches, with a focus on North End Road Market. The regeneration of North End Road Market, which involved relocating traders and maintaining market operations, was described as a challenging but ultimately successful project.
• Work Activities and Application Numbers: There was an 11% increase in the total number of applications, reaching 1382. However, significant increases in Temporary Event Notices and notifications did not translate to increased income, as fees are set by statute and have remained unchanged since 2005. The council is responding to a Home Office survey to inform potential changes to licensing fees.
• Gambling Premises: The number of gambling premises, including adult gaming centres and betting premises, remained stable at 31. Concerns were raised about the appearance of new premises when existing ones may have closed for refurbishment and reopened under a different name.
• Licensing Subcommittee Hearings: There was a 34% increase in hearings compared to the previous year, with one review hearing compared to zero the year before. The majority of applications were granted or agreed in part. A backlog from summer 2022 has now been cleared.
• Income and Debt: A decrease in income of over £60,000 was reported, primarily due to a reduction in application fees, as increased application numbers did not affect statutory fees. The total overdue licensing debt stood at £17,200 as of March 31, 2023. The council plans to suspend licenses monthly to reduce this debt.
• Market Service Finances: In line with the London Local Authorities Act, which stipulates that councils should not profit from their markets function, the total income for the market service in 2022-23 was approximately £260,000. Permanent traders at North End Road Market accounted for the largest proportion of fees. Efforts are underway to convert casual traders into permanent ones.
• Pre-Application Advice Service: While not a significant income generator, this service is relied upon by businesses and residents. Income increased despite a reduction in cases, due to handling complex applications for large events such as Chelsea Applications, railway arches, and the Ministry of Sound at Westfield. The new licensing policy offers one hour of free pre-application advice for small independent traders, though uptake has been low, with many businesses preferring ad-hoc phone advice.
• Service Improvement: A key achievement was the introduction of a new business-friendly statement of licensing policy in July 2023. This policy removed two cumulative impact areas in Fulham and Shepherds Bush, introduced new policy areas for issues like drink spiking and the safety of women in licensed settings, and allows for cumulative impacts to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The team also conducted Ask for Angela welfare and vulnerability engagement visits, including test purchasing operations, and increased work with partner agencies like Immigration. Test purchasing for online alcohol sales has also commenced. A new anonymous representations policy has been implemented, redacting personal information from online reports. A migration to a new case management system, NEC, is also underway.
• Future Plans: Plans include a new sex establishment policy with a greater focus on the people involved in the industry, a proposed night surgery, and the development of a nighttime economy action plan. The council will also be visiting large and medium-sized venues to discuss counter-terrorism measures in anticipation of Martyn's Law¹. Further focus will be placed on preventative measures for problem gamblers and the introduction of new fees for film ratings to cover officer time. The nighttime economy working group will focus on progressing a nighttime strategy with the Mayor's Office.
• Licensing Enforcement: The team provided advice on enforcement issues on 564 occasions and dealt with 630 complaints, an increase from the previous year. The addition of a second enforcement officer is expected to improve the team's reactivity and proactivity. Enforcement activities include regular inspections at football clubs and nearby premises, involvement in events like Polo in the Park, and collaboration with the law enforcement team on street drinking issues. The team also applied for a review of the license for Chelsea Lodge due to concerns about underage individuals being present and intoxicated, leading to the addition of extra conditions to the license.

Councillor Paul Alexander raised a question regarding the apportionment of waste contract costs for markets, requesting a breakdown of how these costs are allocated. The team agreed to investigate this further. Councillor Asif Siddique inquired about the anonymised representations policy, seeking clarification on whether representations would be fully anonymised or include general location information. The committee was informed that members receive a semi-redacted version, while the public online version is fully redacted. Councillor Dominic Stanton sought clarification on the council's role in setting film certificate ratings for films without a BBFC certificate, which was confirmed as a service provided to cover officer time and ensure films shown are appropriate.

The committee then agreed to note the contents of the report and provide any comments, suggestions, and recommendations for the team's future work. Following this, the committee agreed to exclude the public and press from the meeting to discuss exempt items related to financial and business affairs.