Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on hybrid meetings be agreed.

Apologies for absence were received from Eddie Hanson and Sharon Hardwick.

There were none.

Webcasting of the Meeting

The Chair to announce the following: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record and film public meetings, I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for six months after the meeting.  After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on DVD upon request.

If you are seated in the chamber it is likely that the Council’s cameras will capture your image and you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.  If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast unless you have already indicated that you do not wish this to happen.

If you wish to avoid appearing on the Council’s webcast you should move to one of the galleries.”

Any Other Announcements

Broadcasting of the meeting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and the broadcast would remain available for six months, after which it could be made available on request. Anyone addressing the meeting was deemed to be consenting to having their contribution recorded and broadcast and to the use of those recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.

There were no deputation requests.

There were no items of urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th July 2022.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th July 2022.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Community Services.

This report sets out the purpose of Camden’s Statement of Licensing Policy under the Gambling Act 2005 and explains the process the Council has followed to review and amend its current Policy.

The report presents a revised draft Statement of Licensing Policy, setting out the key changes for the Licensing Committee to consider, comment on and recommend that the proposed Policy and draft local area profile be approved for a 12-week public statutory consultation.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Community Services.

The Director of Public Safety and the Public Protection Manager introduced the report.

The Committee were advised that the policy should align with the Council’s approach to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and should strengthen the mitigations for the risks associated with gambling related harm.

Responding to a question, Officers advised that no regard was given to the Local Area Profiles in the decision making process, these profiles were used to measure whether an area should be considered as a high risk area and were not used in the same way as a Culminative Impact Policy area, for example.

The Committee were advised that Licensing Officers undertook unannounced inspections to ensure that gambling establishments were following the correct procedures.

The Committee expressed concern about problem gambling and made the following comments:

• Signage should be displayed in gambling premises with debt advice and the help available for financial difficulty, including what the Council could do to help.
• Instant loan companies enable people to gamble beyond their means and increase debt.
• Whilst online gambling was not regulated by the Council, work should be undertaken to see what the Council could do to support people who are in bad situations as a result of online gambling.
• For those who are vulnerable, problem gambling could become a safeguarding issue, so wider work should be undertaken to see how the Council could support these individuals. Furthermore, the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee and Public Health could seek to contribute to this area of work.

The Public Protection Manager noted the comments made by Members and advised that online gambling was concerning for those who experienced problem gambling, it was outside the scope of the Council’s powers to address this, however the Gambling Commission was undertaking work in this area. The Director of Public Safety added that he would request that work in this area was added to the Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding Partnership Board forward plan.

The Director of Public advised that once the 12 week public consultation had ended, an addendum could be presented to the committee apprising members with further information about the Gambling Act 2005 regulatory framework.

ACTION: Director of Public Safety

Members thanked the Director of Public Safety and the Public Protection Manager for their work on the Draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2023 - 2026 (Gambling Act 2005).

RESOLVED –

THAT the Licensing Committee:

i)               Note the draft revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2023-2026 under the Gambling Act 2005 (the Gambling Policy) at Appendix 1; and

ii)              Approve the commencement of a 12-week statutory consultation on the draft revised Gambling Policy 2023-2026.

ACTION: Director of Public Safety

Report of the Director of Community Services.

This report sets out and details Camden Women’s Safety Public Realm Action Plan. It has been developed in response to ongoing challenges with regards to Violence against Women and Girls and related issues reflecting the Camden Community Safety Partnership’s commitment towards prioritising women’s safety.

The report provides an overview of the Women’s Safety Public Realm Action plan in the context of licensed venues in the Borough.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Community Services.

The Community Safety Manager introduced the report alongside the Director of Public Safety.

Councillor Pat Callaghan, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities commented on the contents of the report highlighting the importance of the work on women’s safety, including the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme and the creation of the Safety Hub in Camden Town.

In response to Committee Members’ questions, Officers provided the following key information:

• The Camden Safety Hub had a focus on women’s safety and would operate between the hours of 19.00hrs and midnight on a Friday and Saturday, with a view to extend these hours in the future. It was intended that the Camden Safety Hub would provide a model that could be rolled out to other hotspots, such as Kings Cross, if there is demand for the service in those areas.
• Whilst the application for a premises licence was a standardised process within a legislative framework, measures could be taken to bring women’s safety to the forefront of this process. Discussions could take place with Licensing and Legal Officers to ascertain how the application process could prioritise women’s safety, whilst ensuring statutory obligations are fulfilled. 
• This work could consist of, including women’s safety issues in any future consultation that was undertaken, updating the applicant’s guidance to include advice on how to promote women’s safety during the application process, and the Licensing Panel report template could be updated to include an informative to Members about Women’s Safety.

ACTION: Director of Public Safety/ Public Protection Manager

• Furthermore, it was expected that all applicants have due regard the Statement of Licensing Policy in its entirety when making an application and an appendix on women’s safety had been added to the Policy last year, so applicants should give this consideration.
• It was indented that venues would be able to advertise that they were signed up to the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme, which could provide reassurance to women going into venues.
• Whilst getting 85% of licensed premises to sign up to ‘Ask for Angela’ was ambitious, it was important to have a clear target and a means to have a record for those premises that had signed up.

Members made the following comments of the report:

• ‘Ask for Angela’ should be part of every licensed venue’s operation, including food outlets that are licensed for late night refreshment.
• Whilst venues signing up to the Ask for Angela scheme was positive, if someone was in a position where they had to use it, something had already gone wrong. Therefore, venues should be encouraged to create environments that were safe for everyone and were bystanders were able to intervene if they witnessed harassment.
• There were already some examples, such as venues that had created safe spaces for people to use if they felt uncomfortable and projects such as Safer Gigs for Women.
• The ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme could provide a good model to address other issues such as transphobia or homophobia, and to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

There was none.