Agenda and minutes

Members are advised to note that this meeting was not quorate so all decisions contained within this minute are required to be approved.

The Forum had before it the minute of the meeting held on 25 February 2011.

The clerk advised the Forum that the meeting held on 25 February 2011 had not been quorate and, as such, any decisions made contained within the minute would be required to be ratified by the Forum at this time.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)                 to approve the minute, and

(ii)               to ratify the decisions made therein.

Members are advised to note that the next meeting of the Licensing Board is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 May 2011, at 10:30am in the Town House, Broad Street.

With reference to Article 4 of the minute of the meeting of 11 November 2010, the Forum had before it a copy of the agenda of the meeting of the Licensing Board of 11 January 2011.

The clerk advised the Forum that the minute for the meeting of the Licensing Board of 11 January 2011 had not been available at the time the agenda was published but that it would soon be available online if they cared to view it. Sandy Kelman raised a query regarding an apparent trend towards applications which pertained to change opening times from 12:30pm to 11:00am on a Sunday. It was advised that this may be because there was now no restriction on a Sunday as per the 14hr rule.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)                 to approach the Board to seek clarification regarding the trend of recent applications which pertained to change opening times from 12:30pm to 11:00am on a Sunday; and

(ii)               to note the information.

With reference to Article 4 of the minute of the meeting of 25 February 2011, the Forum once again had before it a letter from Brenda Flaherty, Legal Manager, Licensing Team. In terms of section 12 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, where the Board decides not to follow advice or recommendations given to it by the Forum, it must give reasons for not doing so. The letter set out the Licensing Board response to the Forum’s submissions with regards the review of Statement of Licensing Policy.

The Forum expressed disappointment at the letter, feeling that some of the responses provided were insufficiently detailed and lacked clarity. It was decided to discuss this further at a later meeting with a view to preparing a detailed response for discussion at the next Forum/Board joint meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

to discuss further at the next meeting with a view to providing a detailed response at the next joint meeting with the Licensing Board.

The Chairperson asked if the representatives present had any statistical information they wished to share with the Forum.

Gillian Esson of Grampian Police advised the Forum that the number of serious assaults in the period January-April 2010 was 5 while the corresponding number for the same period in 2011 was only 3. There were no further updates from members of the Forum.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

The Forum received an oral update from Diane Sande, Licensing Standards Officer. She informed the Forum that late night visits were carried out on 11 March 2011 to a variety of premises – off sales, bars in the Castlegate area of the city, nightclubs, restaurants and members clubs. Four of the premises visited had ongoing noise complaints which gave them an opportunity to visit when the premises were in operation with entertainment ongoing.

Any premises where potential breaches of conditions, unavailable documents and signage issues were found were recorded. She advised the Forum that these premises have either all now been revisited or were scheduled for licensing visits.

She also advised the Forum that the monthly liaison meetings with the police were continuing and visits were carried out on 2 April in the Woodside and Great Northern Road area. Breaches of licence conditions and signage were identified and follow up visits have either taken place or are scheduled to take place.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

The Forum had before it the workplan of the Local Licensing Forum. The Convener went through each issue on the workplan and updates were noted.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)                 for the Clerk to update the workplan as agreed; and

(ii)               to note the relevant updates

http://www.alcoholinformation.isdscotland.org/alcohol_misuse/files/alcohol_stats_bulletin_2011.pdf

The Forum had before it a copy of Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2011, a publication by NHS National Services Scotland and ISD Scotland National Statistics.

This biennial publication presents the latest available information from a range of national data sources relating to alcohol. These include routine data sources and surveys. There are four main sections to the document:

·        The Alcohol Market

·        Alcohol Consumption

·        Alcohol and Health Harm

·        Alcohol and Social Harm

An electronic copy of the document is available at:

www.alcoholinformation.isdscotland.org

The Forum discussed the report, highlighting a number of statistics contained within. One such statistic highlighted was the fact that alcohol was 66% more affordable in 2009 than in 1987.

The Forum concurred that the statistics contained within the document would be beneficial in supporting recommendations/concerns that are put to the Board. They would also be useful in comparing the current situation in Aberdeen with other Scottish cities.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the information given.

With reference to Article 10 of the minute of the meeting of 25 February 2011, the Forum discussed a perceived lack of consistency across the city with regards to door stewarding. There was concern that some licensed premises appeared to have door stewarding as a condition of their licence while other comparable premises did not. Concerns were also raised that there appeared to be a shortage of trained door staff in Aberdeen. The Forum discussed the initial costs of door steward training and the cost of applying for a licence. Currently, it costs £250 for the training course and then a further £244 for the licence under the current training scheme run by SIA (Security Industry Authority). Previously, the training was provided by Aberdeen City Council, cost considerably less and included a basic first aid course, which the current training does not. The training provided by Aberdeen City Council meant that there was a steady turnover of students who were willing and able to work for four years as a door steward while they studied in the city. The initial cost of the current training is seen by the Forum as too expensive, dissuading student applicants. There are also no readily available classes in Aberdeen, with the nearest identified as being in Edinburgh or Glasgow.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)                 to approach the Board with their concerns regarding the policy of door stewarding across the city centre; and

(ii)               to highlight to the Board the cost factor of training as an issue for concern regarding the lack of trained door stewards in Aberdeen.

The Forum had before it an item raised by Craig Adams in relation to the Counter section in the Evening Express specifically the Drink Deals column. The Clerk distributed a copy of the article to the Forum. The Forum felt that, since this column only highlights the cheapest deals on alcohol across the city, the column promotes binge drinking. In discussion, the Forum agreed to invite a representative from Aberdeen Journals to observe a future meeting of the Forum so that they can be made aware of the current situation in Aberdeen.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)                 to extend an invite to a representative from Aberdeen Journals to attend a future meeting of the Forum; and

(ii)               to refer the Forum’s concerns to the Board.

(A)       Statistics from Scottish License Trade Association

George Wyatt advised the Forum that the Scottish License Trade Association would be able to provide statistics to the Forum and asked that the Clerk include this on the next agenda. The Forum also expressed concern that occasional licenses can be granted without the need to have trained staff or personal license holders on premises. It was observed that this was more of an issue in the Aberdeenshire area than the city and so the Clerk was asked to pass on the concerns of the Forum to the Aberdeenshire Licensing Forums.

The Forum resolved:-

to task the clerk to the Licensing Forum to contact the clerk to the Licensing Forums in Aberdeenshire regarding occasional licenses.

            (B)       Unight Awareness Campaign

Mark Donlevy of Unight advised the Forum that they would be a relaunch this year of their awareness campaign in conjunction with Grampian Police. The campaign highlighted the dangers in underage persons using an older family member’s passport to gain admission to licensed premises. It also highlighted the dangers for the older family member in allowing them to do so. Mr Donlevy advised the Forum that the campaign was quite successful last year.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the information.

        (C)           Forum Membership

The Convener advised the Forum that, due to the resignation of Derek Murray from the Forum, there was now a vacancy. Nominations were taken from the Forum and, in addition to the two people already on the waiting list, the clerk received 3 further nominations. The Clerk asked the Forum to contact him with any further nominations and this would be tabled at the next meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the information, and to provide any further nominations for membership to the Clerk before the next meeting.

Members are advised to note that the date of the next meeting of the Local Licensing Forum is Thursday, 23 June 2011, at 2pm in the Town House, Broad Street.

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Forum would be held on Thursday, 23 June, 2011.

-  ALLAN MCINTOSH, Convener.