Agenda and minutes

With reference to item 6, the Licensing Standards Officers informed the Forum that they intended to schedule community training events on the Alcohol Focus Scotland Community Toolkit for November 2016; and 

With reference to item 8, the Forum instructed the Clerk to add the development of a referral system for individuals who had been banned from licensed premises in the self-policing scheme in Torry due to issues related to alcohol abuse to the Progress Statement.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to approve the minute as a correct record;

(ii)       to request an update on the LSO Training Events based on Alcohol Focus Scotland’s Community Toolkit; and

(iii)      to instruct the Clerk to revise the Progress Statement to include an update on the development of a referral system for individuals who had been banned from licensed premises in the self-policing scheme in Torry due to issues related to alcohol abuse.

The Convener reminded members that this meeting was not quorate and reiterated his disappointment with the turnout.

With reference to item 7, the Clerk advised that the Convener, Heather Wilson and himself had attended the 31 May 2016 meeting of the Aberdeen City Youth Council to raise awareness of licensing issues and the role of the Forum. Thereafter Dragosflorin Barbu informed the Forum that the Youth Council had also discussed the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposed new stop and search powers for Police Scotland and its possible impact on young people.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to approve the minute as a correct record; and

(ii)        to note the information provided.

The Convener explained that the Joint Meeting was a requirement of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and thereafter he outlined the purpose of the meeting and the Forum’s role to advise and support the Board to carry out its licensing functions. He noted that the Forum was well represented at the Joint Meeting and was delighted with the turnout which allowed for fruitful discussions with Licensing Board members.

With reference to item 6, the Convener advised that he didn’t feel it was the Forum’s role to develop an aspirational statement on behalf of the Board as it was an advisory body and noted it should be incumbent on the Board to outline their own licensing priorities and aspirations; and

With reference to item 13, the Convener explained that he would welcome an update from the Board on progress in relation to issues raised by the Forum at the Joint Meeting and the Forum agreed that the Convener should write a letter to the Convener of the Licensing Board to invite a representative of the Board to provide a progress update at the Forum’s next meeting.

Thereafter the Forum discussed the issues raised at the Joint Meeting and members highlighted that Board members had been cautious to endorse a number of Forum recommendations due to issues of legality and possible future challenge from applicants.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the minute; and

(ii)       to instruct the Convener to correspond with the Convener of the Licensing Board to invite a Board representative to the Forum’s next meeting to provide a progress update in relation to issues raised at the Joint Meeting.

The Clerk advised that Police Scotland had nominated Insp Kenneth McGeough as their representative on the Forum replacing Sgt Gill Flett;

The Clerk informed the Hub that Miriam Smith, Billy Nicol and Margaret Cruickshank had been nominated by Aberdeen City Council as alternate members representing Education and Children Services on the Forum; and

The Clerk advised that the Aberdeen Youth Council had nominated Dragosflorin Barbu as their representative on the Forum replacing Giedre Nenuite.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        to appoint Insp Kenneth McGeough as Police Scotland’s representative to the Forum;

(ii)       to appoint Miriam Smith, Billy Nicol and Margaret Cruickshank as the Education and Children’s Services alternative representatives  to the Forum; and

(iii)      to appoint Dragosflorin Barbu as Aberdeen Youth Council’s representative to the Forum.

The Convener noted that Alcohol Focus Scotland had scheduled a regional licensing event on 15 September 2016 in Aberdeen and advised that this would provide licensing partners with an opportunity to share best practice with colleagues from other local authority areas. Thereafter a number of Forum members confirmed their attendance at the event.

The Forum Resolved

To note the update.

The Convener explained that Alcohol Focus Scotland produced a Strategic Plan on a three year basis and advised that a number of areas covered in the report were directly related to the work of the Forum and he highlighted controlled sales from licensed premises as a pertinent example. Heather Wilson added that the report focussed heavily on the supply side of alcohol abuse and she would like to see more policies on strategic outcomes such as protecting children and families from harm. Shamini Omnes advised that the NHS had revised their alcohol policy recently in relation to primary prevention and highlighted that Alcohol Focus Scotland needed to strengthen their communication strategy before their policies and recommendations would become effective.

Thereafter the Forum discussed the extent of alcohol marketing; and the importance of licensing training in order for licensed premises to comply with legislation and retain their licenses.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the update; and

(ii)        to note the information provided.

Shamini Omnes advised that the report had noted the health and social risks from alcohol abuse particularly for vulnerable groups such as those with physical and mental disabilities and it highlighted the link between areas of multiple deprivation and increased instances of alcohol abuse.

Heather Wilson explained that Public Health would no longer be using terminology that referred to safe or sensible drinking and would now use language that referred to low risk drinking. She also advised that the recommended low risk weekly alcohol intake had been reduced and standardised to 14 units for both men and women. Thereafter the Forum discussed the importance of responsible retailing; the report’s guidance for pregnant women; child protection issues; and Police Scotland’s procedures when an individual had been held in custody after an incident involving alcohol abuse.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the report; and

(ii)        to note the information provided.

The Convener advised that the research had concentrated on the English licensing system which had different licensing objectives, but noted that the analysis had identified a number of issues that the Scottish licensing system had also experienced. He explained that the analysis had found there had been a rise in home drinking with an increase in off sales relative to the amount of alcohol sold within licensed premises. Shamini Omnes noted that the report had also recommended that public partners should target their efforts in more deprived communities where the social cost of alcohol abuse was often higher rather than apply a blanket approach.

The Forum Resolved

To note the report.

Insp Kenneth McGeough advised that Police Scotland had set up an alcohol and violence group that would include officers from a number of divisions to develop strategy and policy. He noted that Police Scotland used Innkeeper software to record and store licensing data and suggested he could provide a sample of performance information with an accompanying narrative on issues of interest to the Forum.

Thereafter Insp McGeough summarised Police Scotland’s monitoring arrangements with regards to premises that were under review for non-compliance with licensing legislation. And he informed the Forum that an Unbroken Britain survey had found that Aberdeen was the safest city in Scotland.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        to request relevant data from the Innkeeper system be presented to the Forum’s next meeting with an accompanying narrative to set the performance information in context; and

(ii)       to recognise that the Unbroken Britain survey had found that Aberdeen was the safest city in Scotland and to commend all local partners who had contributed towards this achievement.

Tara-Erin Gilchrist informed the Forum that the 2016-17 LSO Annual Report was being developed and would be reported to the Forum in due course. She explained that annual licensing fees were due to be paid by 1 October 2016 and they had been proactive in reminding premises of this upcoming requirement. Ms Gilchrist also advised that university freshers week was ongoing in the city and they had been monitoring venues popular with students to ensure they had assessed the risks to students and young people during this period.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the update;

(ii)       to add the 2016-17 LSO Annual Report to the Progress Statement with an indicative submission date of mid-2017.

Kerry Laing explained that UNIGHT were expanding their membership and would now include a wider range of licensed premises other than nightclubs. She added that UNIGHT were developing an online sharing database in order for members to share cctv images and information on banned offenders.

The Forum Resolved

To note the update.

Heather Wilson reiterated that alcohol guidelines had been revised down to 14 units for both men and women by the UK Chief Medical Officer and Public Health had begun to update their newsletters and posters to reflect this guidance. The Convener advised that referrals to the Integrated Alcohol Service remained steady in comparison to previous months.

Shamini Omnes explained that locality planning was a major programme related to the integration of health and social care and highlighted that funds would be made available through the Health improvement Plan to support projects focussed on the delivery of the five licensing objectives. Ms Omnes advised that officers from the Health and Social Care Partnership had addressed Dyce and Woodside Community Councils to raise awareness of the Alcohol Focus Scotland Community Toolkit and noted that the sessions had received positive feedback.

The Forum Resolved

To note the updates.

Miriam Smith explained that she would investigate whether there was an officer within Education and Children’s Services who would be available to provide the Forum with an update on the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) programme. Ms Smith also advised that she would liaise with Police Scotland to explore if there were further opportunities for joint working in relation to youth justice.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        to request an update on the GIREFEC programme particularly how it relates to licensing and alcohol awareness; and

(ii)       to request that Education and Children’s Services liaise with Police Scotland to explore if there were further opportunities for joint working in relation to youth justice.

The Clerk provided an update on the items recorded in the Progress Statement and advised that the 2016-17 LSO Annual Report and the Convener’s letter to the Convener of the Licensing Board on progress with regards to the recommendations presented at the Joint Meeting would be added to the Statement.

The Forum Resolved

To instruct the Clerk to update the Progress Statement to include the 2016-17 LSO Annual Report and the Convener’s letter to the Convener of the Licensing Board.

The Forum Resolved

To note the date.

ALEXANDER KELMAN, Convener