Agenda and minutes

The Convener opened the meeting and welcomed new members and attendees to the forum. Thereafter members introduced themselves and the Convener explained the role and remit of the Aberdeen Local Licensing Forum.

(i)      with regards to item 7 the pilot study in Torry was run by the Safer Torry Partnership and not NHS Grampian;

(ii)     with regards to item 12 NHS Grampian was raising awareness about the Licensing Objectives in GP practices in the South of the City but this could not be defined as a campaign;

(iii)    otherwise to note the minute as a correct record; and

(iv)   note the additional information provided.

(i)            with regards to item 3 Tara-Erin Gilchrist informed the Forum that the 2013/14 LSO report to the Licensing Board was still awaiting approval largely due to implementation of Service Level Agreements. As a result the issue had now been taken up by senior officers and an update on progress would be provided at the next meeting;

(ii)           with regards to item 3 the Clerk advised the Forum that Graeme Pyper would join the Forum as the Community Council representative and would deliver a presentation at the next meeting;

(iii)          with regards to item 3 Tara Erin Gilchrist notified the Board that the LSO’s were now on the Community Council Forum distribution list and would attend meetings on a periodic basis.

(iv)         with regards to item 3 the Clerk advised the Forum that the Licensing Objective 1 data regarding the breakdown of alcohol related crime in the city centre would be added to the June agenda and a representative from the Community Safety Hub would speak to the findings;

(v)          with regards to item 6 the Clerk informed the Forum that discussions had taken place between himself and the Clerk of the Licensing Board with regards to setting a date for the annual joint meeting between the Licensing Board and Forum;

(vi)         with regards to item 7 Shamini Omnes advised the Forum that she would be in a position to deliver a presentation to the forum on the findings of the Safer Torry pilot within the next couple of meeting cycles;

(vii)        with regards to item 7 Chris Cromar advised the Forum that the Aberdeen Youth Council would discuss Young People’s attitude towards alcohol at their next meeting in May and would report back on these discussions at the Forum meeting in June; and

(viii)       with regards to item 9 Sergeant Gillian Flett advised the Forum that one to one points of contact between licensed premises and individual police officers was more appropriate for premises out with the city centre as the number of venues and population involved in the city centre was too voluminous for the scheme to be effective. At this point the Forum resolved to defer discussion about this issue until the next meeting. In the meantime Sergeant Flett advised that she would raise this issue with the thirteen inspectors for local areas to further develop communication and cooperation between the licensed trade and Police Scotland.

(i)            Graeme Pyper had joined the forum as the Community Council Representative;

(ii)           Peter Benton had replaced Craig Coles as the Aberdeen Samirtans representative;

(iii)          William Christie (Off Sales) had resigned from the Forum as a member and had requested to become a co-optee;

(iv)         The Convener advised the Forum that in order to achieve a balance in membership, the vacancy should be filled by an off sales representative and requested that members inform the Clerk if suitable candidates had emerged or indicated their willingness to fill the vacancy;

(v)          Doug Rae would no longer be Police Scotland’s representative on the Forum and his replacement(s) was expected to be confirmed by the next meeting;

(vi)         David McNair intended to apply to be a co-optee and the Clerk advised that he would liaise with David on this matter; and

(vii)        The Convener instructed the Clerk to investigate the participation rates of the Forum’s co-optees and correspond with them to determine their intended level of involvement.

Heather Wilson (NHS Grampian) informed the Forum that the NHS was a statutory partner in the licensing application process and she outlined the timescales and criteria for which NHS Grampian had to consider when submitting an objection to an application. Mrs Wilson advised on how NHS Grampian use and interpret performance information to identify patterns and inform actions but conceded that challenges remained in relation to the lack of evidence that categorically affirmed a casual realtionship between availability and alcohol consumption. Mrs Wilson surmised that NHS Grampian had influenced decision making particularly in relation to protecting children from harm; an area that had worked collaboratively with Police Scotland.

Sergeant Gillian Flett (Police Scotland) explained that the Police’s approach was to submit fewer objections relative to the number of modifications and representations which aimed to change the conditions of the applications. She also added that assessing an application on its merits relative to the licensing objectives and not through a one size fits all approach had evidently influenced the Licensing Board’s decision making. Sergeant Flett also advised that in recent months Police Scotland had developed their partnership working with schools and the Education and Childrens Service to limit children’s access to alcohol and in the summer months would scrutinise applications that would permit outdoor drinking and she advised that there were control measures in place to manage and mitigate these issues.

The Convener explained that he would propose the introduction of an aspirational statement for discussion on the joint meeting’s agenda; in addition to a discussion on the Board’s interpretation and application of Aberdeen City Council’s (ACC) Statement of Licensing Policy and the Forum agreed with the Convener’s proposals.

The Forum then discussed potential agenda items and there were suggestions in relation to the Meet the Hendersons campaign, the correlation between alcohol abuse and the suicide rate and role of Public Health to promote greater awareness of the impact of alcohol and drugs and to support preventative approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of the population.

The Convener advised members that if they had any suggestions with regards to the agenda for the joint meeting then they should liaise with the Clerk.

Sergeant Gillian Flett advised the Forum that she would investigate if meaningful performance information could be provided which would support the Forum’s remit and also explained that Police Scotland would welcome greater clarity from the Licensing Board on the interpretation and application of Aberdeen City Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

No further updates.

No further updates.

Heather Wilson informed the Forum that a recent study had found that 84% of the Aberdeen public lived within close proximity of a licensed premise and as a result NHS Grampian would support the inclusion of questions in the City Voice Questionnaire that pertained to the display of alcohol and its impact on local communities.

Shamini Omnes also explained that Community Health Partnerships had been abolished on 1 April 2015 and that their functions now rested with the Chief Officer for Adult Health and Social Care and would update the Forum on the impact of integration at the next meeting.

Andrew Jones advised the Forum that the Multi Agency Screening (MAS) process was now in place and had been signed off by the Integrated Childrens Services Board. Mr Jones reminded the Forum that the MAS system ensured that multiple agencies shared information relating to concerns about the welfare of children which included the impact of alcohol and drugs on their lives and that this system would be in place until the full implementation of the Named Person role as envisaged under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which was expected to be in August 2016. Mr Jones also added that the reporting processes and the capturing of data were still to be agreed, but future reports to the Forum may subsequently be possible.

To note the progress statement.