Issue - meetings

UNIGHT

Ruary Campbell advised that while the media occasionally reported on decisions of the Licensing Board, it was difficult to get any media interest on issues such as the Purple Flag and the work being done by ADP in relation to educational material, and suggested that this could be something for the Board and Forum to look at in future.

He also asked for an update on the refresher certificates.  Mr Anderson advised that all the procedures were in place, and it was now up to licence holders to submit their paperwork for processing.  He added that it was a huge job for the service and asked that if there were any concerns with the process, that these be raised with the team.  The general message was that licence holders should communicate with officers and not leave the organisation of their training to the last minute.

Mr Campbell added that the training had not been updated in the last five years, and suggested that this could be looked at in future.  He also added that there were potential issues with the role of premises manager, namely that there was no criteria which stipulated that the premises manager required to hold a personal licence, nor any additional qualifications which were necessary.  He suggested that there could be a qualification for premises managers.  He also noted that although he had submitted his paperwork in February, he had yet to receive his certificate. 

Mr Anderson advised that although there might be delays in the certificates being received due to the volume of paperwork to be processed, the important factor was for the training to have been undertaken prior to the deadline, so as long as this had been done, licence holders should not be concerned if they did not receive their certificate before the deadline had passed. 

In relation to the issue of premises manager, Councillor Boulton advised that any qualification for premises managers would have to be progressed via legislation, although she added that the Licensing Board could lobby for this if required.  She added that the Licensing Standards Officers could also highlight any concerns to the Board.  Inspector Hume noted that there had been issues with the level of management at some premises, and suggested that the Police presentation could be given to a wider audience, through UNIGHT.

BEST BAR NONE

Emily Queen took the opportunity to remind the Joint Meeting of the Best Bar None scheme, highlighting that it showed willingness on the part of premises to work towards best practice.  She suggested that the Board could be mindful of this where applications were received from premises who had membership of either UNIGHT or Best Bar None.

AIR WEAPONS AND LICENSING BILL

Eric Anderson updated the Joint Meeting on the above Bill which was to take effect from 2015.  He highlighted particular changes to the legislation, including:-

·         the creation of a new offence for supplying alcohol to children and young people for consumption in a public place

·         the amendment of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9