The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report.
Minutes:
The Chair confirmed with the Sub-Committee Members that reports for the meeting had been read.
The Director of Neighbourhoods and Environmental Services submitted a report that required Members to determine an application for the review of an existing Personal Licence.
The applicant was not present. The Licensing Team Manager, Licensing Enforcement Officer and Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee were present.
Councillor John Thomas joined the meeting at this point.
It was noted that all relevant documents had been sent to the applicant, but the applicant had made no contact with the Licensing Team. Members agreed that the meeting should proceed without the applicant being present.
The Licensing Team Manager outlined details of the application including the relevant City Council Policy Guidelines and drew Members’ attention to the convictions referred to in the report.
The Sub-Committee received legal advice from the Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee in the presence of all those present.
In reaching their decision, Members felt they should deliberate in private on the basis that this was in the public interest, and as such outweighed the public interest of their deliberation taking place with the parties represented present.
The Chair announced that the decision and the reasons made during private deliberation would be publicly announced within five working days. The Chair informed the meeting that the Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee would be called back to give advice on the wording of the decision.
The Chair then asked all but Members of the Sub-Committee and Democratic Support Officers to disconnect from the meeting. The Sub-Committee then deliberated in private in order to consider their decision.
The Sub-Committee recalled the Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee to give advice on the wording of the decision.
RESOLVED:
That the Personal Licence be REVOKED.
The Sub-Committee Members had been asked to determine an application for the review of a Personal Licence.
In reaching their decision the Sub-Committee Members had carefully considered the Committee report, the representations made by the Licensing Team Manager at Leicester City Council and the legal advice given to them at the hearing. The Sub-Committee Members noted that no representations had been received from the Personal Licence Holder.
The Sub-Committee Members considered the licensing objectives to be of paramount concern. They had considered the application on its own merits and in accordance with the licensing authority’s Statement of Licensing Policy and guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.
REASON FOR THE DECISION
The Sub-Committee Members noted that the Personal Licence Holder was convicted on 24th April 2020 of two offences, both of which were relevant offences, namely Assault by Beating contrary to S.39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and Stalking contrary to Section 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The facts of the convictions were set out in subsection 5 of the report. Members also noted the sentence imposed by the Court.
Members confirmed that the convictions for the relevant offences gave grounds under S132A of the Licensing Act 2003 to suspend or revoke the licence.
The Sub Committee Members’ overriding consideration was the protection of the public. The seriousness of the offence and the sentence imposed by the Court clearly reflected the seriousness of the offending. Members stated that the fact the offending was domestic in nature mattered not, and that the Personal Licence Holder had a propensity to commit offences of violence or put people in fear of violence. As such the Sub-Committee Members had no confidence in the Personal Licence Holder’s ability to uphold the licensing objectives particularly with regards to public safety, nor did they have confidence in his ability to act responsibly, legally and comply with the requirements of the Licencing Act 2003.
The Sub Committee Members’ decision was therefore that the Personal Licence be revoked.
The Personal Licence Holder would be informed that he has 21 days to appeal this decision to the Magistrates Court should he wish to do so.
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