Agenda and minutes

The Forum had before it the minute of its meeting of 4 April 2018.

The minute was agreed as a true record of the meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

To approve the minute

There were no matters arising.

Item 5 was brought forward on the agenda.

The Chairperson acknowledged the work done by representatives from Health on a proposed joint response to the consultation exercise.

The Forum discussed each of the questions contained within the questionnaire in turn and agreed that, generally speaking, the information presented was correct and could be agreed.  There were however just one or two areas where the opinions of members diverged; Most notably questions 17 and 18, dealing with the number of nightclub premises and the terminal hour.

It was noted that the initial deadline for responses had already passed and, although the individual agencies had already responded, the joint Forum response was still outstanding.

Jenni Wilson and Sandy Munro confirmed that this was not a problem.  They acknowledged receipt of the individual agency responses and confirmed that a new draft policy was being prepared for circulation, taking all that information into account.  They confirmed that the draft policy would then be subjected to further consultation.

The Chairperson suggested, now that the Forum had a working document for a joint response and to avoid duplicating the whole process, that the Forum should now wait to see the draft policy and finalise the joint response at that stage.

Jenni Wilson and Sandy Munro confirmed that this would be acceptable.

This was agreed.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the position

The Chairperson welcomed Louise Grant from Fierce Beer to the Forum.

The Chairperson confirmed that a DVD advertising the campaign had now been produced in conjunction with RGU and that the campaign would be refreshed in Aberdeen City at the same time it was rolled out in Aberdeenshire and Moray.

Emily Queen said she would make sure all the clubs knew about it.

Sarah Wheeler said that she had contacted the bus companies.  First Aberdeen were happy to become involved and had offered to display the posters on their late-night buses.  She said that Stagecoach had not responded thus far.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update

Heather Wilson said that help was required with training for local Community Council Licensing Officers and wondered if this was something the Forum might be able to do.

The Clerk highlighted the fact that delivering training was outwith the remit of the Forum.

The Licensing Standards Officers said that they were already involved in training staff at licensed premises and might be in a position to assist, as it would fall within their own remit.

The Clerk agreed to liaise with the Council’s Community Council Liaison Officer to ascertain what was required.

The Forum resolved:-

to liaise with the Community Council Liaison Officer via the Clerk.

·         Licensing Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2007 Update
The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on the Update of the Licensing (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2007, closing on Wednesday 6th June.  It seeks seek views, in particular, on sections of the public notification process, which enable communities to have a voice in local licensing decisions.

·         Low Alcohol Product Labelling
The UK Government has launched a consultation on low alcohol product labelling, closing Thursday 10th May. It seeks views on the use of low alcohol descriptors in the marketing or labelling of alcoholic drinks.

For noting.

The Chairperson noted the fact that Item 5 had taken up most of the allocated meeting time.  He provided a short update to the effect that the Police Licensing Officers remained busy and were currently involved with the Local Outcome Improvement Plans.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update

The Licensing Standards Officers provided information regarding personal licences, saying that the National LSO Group had received an update from the Scottish Government proposing that refresher training should also be regarded as renewal of the licence.

The Licensing Standards Officers also provided an update on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP), saying that the off-sales industry had a very good grasp of the subject, however there were concerns around the on-trade which the LSOs were currently focussing on.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update

Sarah Wheeler advised that the Unight AGM had taken place last month, however there had not been sufficient numbers in attendance to enable the appointment of office bearers to be take place.  She added that the group would now be meeting every two months and it was hoped that with the slightly less demanding schedule they would see a rise in attendance figures.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update

Heather Wilson advised that the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) had a new campaign called ‘To the Point’, which comprised very short, key messages concerning alcohol, drugs, blood borne viruses and mental health.

Shamini Omnes said that the Aberdeen City Health and Social Partnership Strategic Plan was up for review and that a number of engagement activities were planned.

The Forum resolved:-

To note the update

Deferred to next meeting.

The Chairperson said that there was a drive towards highlighting the issue of vulnerability and the duty of care imposed on all licence holders and staff in licensed premises to look after people.  He added that appropriate recommendations had been submitted by the Police to all five Licensing Boards for consideration of inclusion in their respective Statements of Licensing Policy.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update

The next meeting will take place on 22 August 2018 at 2pm.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 22 August 2018.

-Kenny McGeough, Chairperson