The Licensing Committee of Haringey Council met on Monday 20 May 2024 to discuss the establishment of a Licensing Sub-Committee for the upcoming municipal year. The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items such as apologies, urgent business, and declarations of interest.

Establishment of the Licensing Sub-Committee

A key item scheduled for discussion was the establishment of the Licensing Sub-Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year. The report presented to the committee outlined the proposed membership and terms of reference for this sub-committee. The recommendations included agreeing to the establishment of the sub-committee, confirming that its membership would mirror that of the main Licensing Committee, and approving its terms of reference as detailed in the Council's constitution.

The report explained that the Licensing Committee may establish Licensing Sub-Committees to conduct hearings. Legally, these sub-committees must have three members, and the Council's Local Licensing Procedure Rules set the quorum at three members to promote effective decision-making. It was proposed that the membership of the Licensing Sub-Committee would be drawn from the Licensing Committee, with three members appointed for each hearing. All members of the Licensing Committee would be consulted on their availability, and efforts would be made to ensure equal distribution of sub-committee responsibilities. The Chair of the Licensing Committee would typically chair the sub-committee, with the Vice Chair acting as a substitute. In the absence of both, a trained member would be proposed. The report also noted that while political balance is not a legal requirement for statutory licensing committees, it has historically been a practice for good governance.

The terms of reference for the Licensing Sub-Committee were to be confirmed as set out in Part 3, Section B of the Council's constitution. These terms of reference cover functions under both the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005, including determining applications for premises licences, provisional statements, and reviews where relevant representations have been made. The sub-committee's remit also extends to variations of premises licences, applications for personal licences following police objections, and various functions under the Gambling Act 2005, such as determining applications for variations and transfers of premises licences.

Additionally, the sub-committee would operate as a non-statutory committee for licensing and regulatory functions not falling under the Council's Executive/Cabinet. This includes licensing for street trading, scrap metal dealing, special treatment premises, sex establishments, and dog breeding establishments. In these cases, the sub-committee would make decisions on individual licensing or registration cases requiring a hearing due to objections or officer recommendations for refusal. However, policy issues, procedures, and standard terms and conditions would remain within the remit of the main Licensing Committee.

The report indicated that there were no financial implications arising from these recommendations. The Head of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer) had consulted on the report and approved its content. An initial screening also concluded that the proposals carried no implications for the Council's public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010.

The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items:

• Filming at Meetings: A note informing attendees that the meeting may be filmed or recorded, and that by attending, individuals consent to being filmed and their images and sound recordings being used.
• Apologies: To receive any apologies for absence.
• Urgent Business: The Chair would consider the admission of any late items of urgent business.
• Declarations of Interest: Members were reminded of their obligation to declare any disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial interests and to withdraw from discussions and voting on such matters.
• Deputations / Petitions / Presentations / Questions: To consider any requests received in accordance with the Council's constitution.
• New Items of Urgent Business: To consider any items of urgent business identified earlier in the agenda.