Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1  Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: Patrick and Smyth.

1.2  The Chair welcomed the following Councillors who had joined remotely. Councillors: Conway, David and Gordon.

2.1  There were no declarations of interest.

3.1  To consider the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 8 December 2021.

Theminutes of the previous meeting of the  Licensing Committee held on 8 December 2021 were agreed as a true and correct record of preoceedings.

3.1   Cllr Fajana-Thomas’ absence to be recorded.

3.2  Following a question from Cllr Fajana-Thomas, Samantha Mathys, Late Night Levy Manager, explained that all Late Night Levy reports are written in retrospect. The discussions at paragraph…..related to the Levy report which provided the position on the Late Night Levy between July 2021 to 31 October 2022. It did not reflect the position at the time of the meeting in December 2021.

RESOLVED: The minutes of the previous meeting of the  Licensing Committee held on 8 December 2021 were agreed as a true and correct record of preoceedings.

RESOLVED: To note the Late Night Levy Update Report and Appendix.

4.1    Samantha Mathys, Late Night Levy Manager provided an update on the Late Night Levy, year 5, quarter 1, which covered the period 1 November 2021 to 31 January 2022 as follows:

Income and Expenditure

The total expenditure amounted to £93,382

The total receipts amounted to £102, 791

The balance carried forward from previous years was £146, 232

Policing and Enforcement

There had been additional policing in Shoreditch, since early December 2021, tasked to specifically work in the Night time Economy (NTE)

The Shoreditch Town Centre Team (TCT) policing was not funded by the Late Night Levy (LNL).

The LNL continued to fund overtime patrols.

The full budget allocated to policing was not being spent.

Legislation required 70% of net receipts from the LNL to be allocated to policing. Funds did not have to be spent on officers but could be used to fund initiatives.

New initiatives/proposals would be developed in partnership with the police and require approval by the LNL Board.

Communications and Campaigns

In conjunction with the Council’s communications department, various campaigns would be launched in 2022 using posters, social media and the online portal.

The key campaigns included: the official launch of the Accreditation Scheme, public awareness on laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide), inclusivity in night time spaces and drink spiking awareness.

Training

A wide selection of free training (online and in person) would continue to be offered to all license holders.

Welfare and vulnerability training would be offered in partnership with London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the police. Each session would be able to accommodate 100 participants at a time.

A short online licensing refresher course focused on licensing law, regulation and responsibility would be offered.

Licensees had requested a short induction to those new to the bar trade.

Press and Upcoming Events

There has been particular interest in the Hackney NTE.  Hackney Nights had been chosen by the GLA  for a case study review and the  LNL Manager would be presenting at the Night Time Industry Conference in April 2022.

Portal, Accreditation Scheme and LNL Support Officer

A series of training and benchmarking was required to gain the Hackney Nights accreditation.

Accredited venues would be safe a spaces for women who felt like they were the victim of sexual harassment or assault.

The scheme was in the pilot phase working with 25 venues and would be launched once all had completed accreditation.

A part time support officer role would be funded by the LNL  and would be advertised shortly.

Outreach work would be undertaken to engage Off-Licences.

4.2   In conclusion, the LNL Manager advised that as the economy re-opened, it was expected that income would be at regular levels by spring. The main focus of the levy in the coming months would be the on-line portal and the Accreditation Scheme.

4.3   In response to questions from Members relating to the report, the LNL Manager responded as follows:

The police were currently working on guidance for licensees on crime scene preservation, The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1   There was no other business for consideration.