Agenda item
Late Night :Levy Update Report (Quarter 1, Year 5)
Decision:
RESOLVED: To note the Late Night Levy Update Report and Appendix.
Minutes:
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 guidance would be made available on the portal.
The additional policing in Shoreditch had enabled the LNL patrols to go to other Night Time Economy areas in the borough.
Joint partnership working with the police and other agencies was facilitated by weekly NTE meetings to tackle issues and monthly strategic meetings. Meetings were attended by the police, Hackney Licensing Team, Metropolitan Police Licensing Team and the Council’s Enforcement, Community Safety and Environmental Health teams.
To shape strategies on women’s safety, the Council had engaged women and girls through ‘Good Night Out’ - the campaign for a safer nightlife, which had acted as a focus group. There had also been regular consultation with the Council’s safety team. There were also plans to carry out a survey within venues to get the views of women and girls on safety issues.
Accredited venues would have a certain level of prestige and be subject to positive marketing. In addition, they would receive a 30% reduction in levy fees.
A record was kept of training undertaken by venues and meetings attended. Attendance at pubwatch meetings was not monitored as this was not Council led.
Accredited venues were required to keep updated on training. The portal would trigger a visit to venues that were not engaging in training.
Accreditation included a sustainability module.
Stop and search figures and outcomes requested by Members at the last meeting in December 2021 were still awaited from the Police, who had been invited to attend the next Licensing Committee meeting.
Pubwatch meetings were listed on the portal.
It was recognised that pubwatch participants use WhatsApp groups to communicate, however the police and Council were not legally permitted to do so.
4.4 Members of the Committee acknowledged that it was the last meeting of the Chair and Vice Chair and offered a vote of thanks and well wishes to Cllr Plouviez and Cllr Bell.
Supporting documents:
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