Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillor Aaron Beaver advised that he was a taxi driver in a neighbouring authority.  Councillor Beaver also advised that he did not have a disclosable pecuniary interest and remained in the meeting.

Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask a question(s) on an item on the agenda will be asked to put their question(s) to the Committee.  Each member of the public will be allowed to ask one supplementary question within his/her allocated 3 minutes. 

https://democracy.chorley.gov.uk/documents/s67429/Appendix%203%20Standing%20Orders%20Aug%2016.pdf

No public questions had been received.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday, 4 October 2023 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Licensing Sub Committee held on Thursday, 19 October 2023 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

To receive and consider the report of the Chief Executive.

Nathan Howson, Enforcement Team Leader presented the report of the Chief Executive which requested that the Committee authorise a minor amendment to the Driver Licence conditions and approve a procedure for the management of lost property by the Council.

The Committee was advised that Section 51(2) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 gave the Council power to attach conditions when granting a licence to drive a private hire vehicle.

The Committee was further advised that the Council currently had a standard set of conditions which were attached to every driver licence and that it was the responsibility of a licensed driver to always comply with these conditions.  A copy of the current conditions was appended to the report at Appendix 1.

Details of current conditions 16 and 17 in relation to hirer’s property were outlined to the Committee as follows:

16.  The licensee shall immediately after the termination of any hiring or as soon as practicable thereafter carefully search the licensed vehicle for any property which may accidentally have been left therein.

17.  The licensee of a licensed vehicle shall if any property is accidentally left therein by any person who may have been conveyed in the licensed vehicle and be found by or handed to him/her carry it, as soon as possible and in any event within 24 hours if not sooner claimed by or on behalf of its owner, to a Police Station in the district in order to receive instructions from the Police regarding its custody.

The Committee was advised that Members of the trade had reported to Council officers that, on attempting to hand in lost property at a Police Station, they had been unable to do so. 

Officers had confirmed that Lancashire Constabulary would not take custody of lost property unless that property was of a very high value.  Research with regarding to how other Local Authorities dealt with the issue had revealed that they required lost property to be returned to them, rather than to local police stations. 

The Committee was requested to consider the following proposed amended condition 17 as follows:

If any property accidentally left in a private hire vehicle is found by or handed to the licensee, then all reasonable steps must be taken to return the property to its rightful owner. If the property cannot be returned to the owner, then the property should be brought to the Council Offices as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, within 72 hours of its discovery.

Subject to approval of the amendments to condition 17, it was suggested that the Committee should determine the amendment to be implemented with immediate effect.  The Committee noted that amending the standard condition would not affect existing licence holders immediately and that conditions would be imposed only on the grant or renewal of a licence.

It was reported that taking custody of lost property required an authority to hold the item for a reasonable period.  To ensure a fair and transparent process  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.L.11

The Chair thanked all Members of the Committee who had attended the recent Licensing SAVI event launch on Thursday, 25 January 2024.

The Chair explained that the scheme was a new Licensing accreditation scheme and was a self-assessment tool for all licenced premises covering all aspects of safety in the evening and nighttime economy (ENTE).  Licensed premises were required to complete an online self-assessment which was then verified by both Police and Licensing and subsequently awarded a star rating.

During the event, Committee Members have visited several venues in Chorley that had been awarded the certificate and star rating.

The Chair requested that all Members of the Committee promote the scheme.

Chair                                                                                     Date