Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Forum’s Constitution the Forum was reminded of the annual opportunity to make nominations for the post of Convener and Vice-Convener of the Aberdeen Local Licensing Forum. Michelle Wall was nominated as Convener and George Wyatt was nominated as Vice Convenor.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the appointment of Michelle Wall as Convener and George Wyatt as Vice-Convener of the Aberdeen Local Licensing Forum.

(i)                 Heather Manning – Aberdeen Samaritans

(ii)               Callum Martin – President (Education & Welfare), RGU:Union

With reference to Article 4 of the minute of the meeting of 17 November 2011, the clerk advised the Forum of two new members joining. The Forum welcomed Heather Manning, Aberdeen Samaritans, to the meeting and noted the update regarding the representative from Robert Gordon University.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

The Forum had before it the minute of the meeting held on 17 November 2011.

The Forum resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The agenda for this meeting can be found at: http://councilcommittees/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=1980&T=10

With reference to Article 4 of the minute of the meeting of 11 November 2010, the Forum had before it a copy of the minute of the meeting of the Licensing Board of 18 October 2011.

The Forum again expressed frustration at the decision by the Board to refuse the request for a nominated Board member to attend Forum meetings. However, the Forum noted that Councillor Jaffrey was in attendance as an observer for this meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update.

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

With reference to item 4, the Forum requested that the Board highlight which of the five licensing objectives related to their decision in either the granting or refusing of applications. The Forum also discussed that the work of the Forum should be tied in more closely with the five licensing objectives in preparation for the review of the Statement of Licensing Policy due in November 2013, with statistics on each objective to be provided at each meeting by the relevant officer for that field. The Forum discussed overprovision areas, offsales and the need to know how the licensing objectives were being measured. Sandy Kelman advised that, by working with Alcohol Focus Scotland, Licensing Boards could make their Licensing Policy more robust which would help to prevent legal challenges. The Forum discussed whether it would be better to have a Social Work representative from Children’s Services attend the meetings to give an input on objective 5.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the updates given.

With reference to Article 10 of the minute of the meeting of 17 November 2011, the Forum had before it an update from Eric Anderson, Depute Clerk for the Licensing Board.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

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

Inspector John Soutar, Grampian Police, advised the Forum of the figures relating to minor and serious assaults over the past 5yrs. He advised that there had been a lot of collaborative work done with the licence trade which has developed an increase in social responsibility and an increase in the reporting of incidents. He advised, however, that there was still a lot of work to be done in relation to incidents out with licensed premises. He also advised the Forum of the amount of licensing offences over the last 9 years, highlighting the increase when the new Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 was introduced. In relation to Licensing Objective (5), Inspector Soutar highlighted the amount of work being undertaken in schools to raise awareness of the Identity Documents Act 2010, wherein it is an offence to possess or use false identity documents, for example, to facilitate underage drinking.

Chris Fowler, UNIGHT, advised the Forum that their membership had declined from 24 members to 21 members. There are currently 20 UNIGHT bans in place.

Heather Manning, Aberdeen Samaritans, advised the Forum that she was interested in discussing the potential link between alcohol use and mental health issues and would look into providing relevant and appropriate statistics to a later meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the updates given.

The Forum received an oral update from Raymond Morrison, Senior Authorised Licensing Standards Officer. He advised the Forum that visits had been focused on offsales recently, in particular on independent stores, along with the usual night visits to premises etc.

With reference to Article 8 of the minute of the meeting of 17 November 2011, Mr Morrison advised the Forum that Michelle Wall had agreed to allow a mock inspection to be conducted on her premises so that members of the Licensing Forum would be able to attend and asked for notifications of interest from the members. He also advised that a presentation would be held at a future meeting for those who were unable to attend the mock inspection. Allan McIntosh, Sandy Kelman, Gerard Rattray and Mary Crawford all expressed interest in attending. Mr Morrison advised the Forum that a date for the mock inspection was still to be decided but that he would let the Forum know once it had been.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

With reference to Article 9 of the minute of the meeting of 17 November 2011, Sandy Kelman updated the Forum on the work currently being undertaken in producing a selection of alcohol related question to submit to City Voice.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

The Forum had before it a copy of collated comments reflecting on the Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) Regional Licensing Event, 23 January 2012. Linda Smith advised the Forum that the event held in Aberdeen was one of the first in a series of events across Scotland. The feedback highlighted a few issues such as the complexity of the data presented (specifically to non-NHS/public health partners), and a lack of opportunity was given to mix and discuss issues/topics raised with people from differing vocational backgrounds.

Sandy Kelman proposed to the Forum that they should begin to work with the Board towards presenting a more robust Statement of Licensing Policy in 2013, utilising the key strategic partners the Forum has already in place. He advised that this would require a considerable amount of consultation and collaboration from now until renewal time. In this respect, Craig Adams suggested that the Forum workplan be structured solely around the 5 Licensing Objectives, highlighting any work which the Forum/Board undertakes towards it, and invite members of Aberdeen City Council legal team to attend future meetings.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update given.

(i)                 Email to Mr Beattie regarding the decision of the Forum not to appoint him.

(ii)               Email to Rev. Bowyer regarding his noted interest in applying to join the Forum.

(iii)             Email to Mr Leith regarding the decision of the Forum not to appoint him.

(iv)              Email to Ms Manning regarding the decision of the Forum to invite her to join the Forum as a member.

(v)                Email to Mr Anderson regarding the Forum meeting of 17 November 2011.

(vi)              Email to Mr Wyatt regarding the Vice Convener position on the Forum.

(vii)            Email to Ms. Sande regarding the possibility of a presentation/explanation of the inspection process.

The Forum had before it copies of correspondence which had been sent by the clerk on the Forum’s behalf. The Forum suggested that copies of any correspondence could be placed on the agenda directly after the minute of the previous meeting so that any actions undertaken can be correlated to the decision made.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the correspondence and the suggestion made to restructure the format of the agenda.

Sandy Kelman advised the Forum that Alcohol and Drugs Partnership had issued a draft copy of their Alcohol Strategy (2009 – 2019) which was now out for consultation and urged members to respond and comment. He advised that it was available at www.aberdeencityadp.org.uk.

George Wyatt advised the Forum that the Scottish Licensing Trades Association Annual General Meeting was being held at the Douglas Hotel in Aberdeen on 5 March 2012 and Forum members were welcome to attend as observers.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the updates given.

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Forum would be held on 12 April, 2012.

-  GEORGE WYATT, Vice Convener.