Agenda and minutes

The Convener welcomed all those in attendance. The Convener welcomed John McGivney as an on-trade sales representative and as a prospective new member of the Local Licensing Forum.

The Convener informed the meeting that the Clerk, Shereen Balaban, would be leaving the Council shortly to take up a new position. The Convener thanked Shereen for her work with the Forum and for her support. The Forum members congratulated Shereen on her new role and intimated their very best wishes to her.

The Clerk advised that apologies for absence had been intimated by the Licensing Standards Officers, Police Scotland, Ewan McLean and Steve McConnachie.

Members were advised that due to the meeting being inquorate, any substantial decisions will be ratified at the next meeting.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the apologies.

The Forum had before it the minute from the meeting on 29 March 2022. There were no matters arising from the minute.

The Forum resolved: -

due to the meeting being inquorate, the minutes of the previous meetings will be approved at the next meeting.

The Forum had before it the minute of their development day meeting of 24 May 2022.

The Forum resolved: -

that due to the meeting being inquorate, the minute of the development day meeting will be approved at the next meeting.

The Forum discussed the matters arising from previous meetings as follows,

Membership

A potential replacement member representing the off-sale trade had been identified, and a potential representative from the Alcohol and Drug Partnership had been identified to enhance the membership of the Forum. The Convener would be meeting both soon and if appropriate would invite them to the next meeting. Members were encouraged through their respective contacts to promote the Forum and introduce the Forum to appropriate prospective members with a particular focus to recruit a young person to the Forum.

John Mooney suggested that a representative from either RGU or the University of Aberdeen might be identified, and this might provide the link with young people that the Forum have tried to secure for some time.

The Forum resolved: -

to note the update on membership.

The Convener provided an update to the three key areas of work that were outlined by the joint meeting of the Local Licensing Forum and Licensing Board on 5 October 2021.

During discussion, the following updates were noted:

Community Engagement

An update on the joint work to identify and implement ways of increasing engagement with the community and Community Councils in relation to licensing matters was provided. The Convener noted that most of the engagement had been facilitated through the Community Councils and sought input on how to engage with the community in general on Licensing matters.

Community Participation in Licensing / Making Representations

An update on Community participation in Licensing and making representation regarding licensing applications was provided by the Convener. With support and thanks from the Forum, Karen Finch, Community Council Liaison Officer, Arlene Dunbar, Paralegal and the Licensing Standards Officers, the Forum facilitated three meetings with the Community Councils which informed the published Guidance Note for Objections/ Representations and the review of the proforma. The Convener welcomed the Forums' feedback and comment on both. The members welcomed a further 6-month review of community participation in licensing and the documents once they have been in use.

Annual Functions Report (AFR)

Sandy Munro, Solicitor provided an overview of the AFR and its purpose. The Convener provided an update on this action from the joint meeting. The Forum heard that suggestions on the scope of how the AFR could be amended to become another route to build on connecting with the community and engagement with licensing were welcomed by the Licensing Team and was an action that required further development. The Convener encouraged members to become involved and to establish a subgroup focused on the AFR, with the purpose to explore the AFR and presenting recommendations to the Forum meeting in November.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)            to note the update to the three key areas of work which were outlined by the joint meeting of the Local Licensing Forum and Licensing Board;

(ii)          to consider ways to promote licensing to the community;

(iii)         to review in 6 months; following the implementation of the Guidance Note and Licensing Representations and the proforma, Community Council’s participation in licensing; and

(iv)         to create a subgroup of the Forum, with the aim of the Subgroup to focus on progressing the work around the Annual Functions Report.

The Forum had before it a reminder of the date of the forthcoming Local Licensing Forum and Licensing Board Joint Meeting and was asked to consider recommendations to the Board. The Convener welcomed discussions around licence conditions, extended hours, and general extensions. The Convener reported that she had already met the Convener of the Licensing Board and that he was very keen to increase dialogue between the Board and the Forum. She highlighted her intention to have an initial discussion with the newly appointed Convener of the Licensing Board Councillor Neil Copland to set the agenda for the Joint meeting.

Forum/Board Engagement was highlighted as a point to be raised with the Board at the joint meeting. Members highlighted the need for a mechanism of dialogue with the Board, its members, and officials. More regular informal meetings with the Board in addition to the annual meeting were warranted.

Members considered the Forum’s input to the development and review of the Statement of Licensing Policy. Members were keen to have an open dialogue on the development of the Licensing Policy to ensure early contribution to the consultation.

The Forum resolved:-

to include Forum/Board engagement and the Statement of Licensing Policy as two points of discussion at the forthcoming Local Licensing Forum and Licensing Board joint meeting in addition to the update on actions agreed at last years meeting.

Sandy Munro, Solicitor, ACC outlined the review of the Statement of Licensing Policy process. The review process was subject to further discussion and agreement with the Board Convener; however, the envisaged process would likely include an initial short consultation. This would look to identify key areas within the policy, which would be reviewed further and would be followed by a workshop with various topics for discussion. This would generate further discussion and feedback to form a draft policy for the Boards approval in September 2023 with a view for the final policy to be approved and implemented in November 2023.

Sandy provided reassurance that the Forum would have the opportunity to submit feedback and input to the review. The Convener welcomed discussion surrounding the Statement of Licensing Policy and addressing the balance between off sales and on sales. Sandy provided an overview of the remit of the board in response and the limitation to policy at a local level in addressing and evidencing local public health concerns. The Convener suggested to the Forum to form a sub-group focusing on the review of the Statement of Licensing Policy. Members nominated included Ewen McLean, Steve McConnachie, John Mooney, Finlay Cran, and the possibility of a representative for off sales.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)            to note the update on the review of the Statement of Licensing Policy;

(ii)          to engage in the review through consultation; and

(iii)         to form a sub-group focused on the review.

Marc Buchanan, Engagement and Partnership Co-ordinator, Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS), and David Allan, Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) presented to the Forum, Alcohol Consumption, and Harm, and provided an overview of Community-led Action Research. Members heard that the presentation on alcohol consumption and harm had been provided for a recent Community Councils meeting and the Convener felt it may be informative for the Forum.

Members heard that the SCDC helped support local groups/organisations in community-led research and helped develop findings and actions on the back of the research. Information on the Knowledge is Power campaign was disseminated. Working alongside AFS the SCDC proposed to work with local groups/organisations in Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire in supporting Community-led Action Research in relation to alcohol. An overview of the process and plan for the project with an end date of around March 2022 was provided.

Alcohol Consumption and Harm was presented to the Forum by AFS. During the presentation, the following topics were included within the discussion:

·         Alcohol Consumption on and off-trade, Scotland, England, and Wales.

·         Alcohol availability and harm.

·         Pandemic impact on alcohol sales.

·         Polarised consumption; Frequency and Units.

·         Negative impact on health and wellbeing.

·         Links with mental health; and

·         Impact on children and families.

The Forum thanked attendees for their presentation and members engaged in constructive dialogue around Alcohol Harm and Community-led Action Research. The Convener welcomed further discussion on the change in habits/trends of alcohol consumption and the contribution of harm. Members' observations were that the presentation was useful when considering licensing and to the review of the Statement of Licensing Policy and acknowledged the role of the Forum in future Community-led Action Research on the topic of Alcohol.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the update.

The Forum had before it a report by Niamh Fitzgerald, Stirling University, Evaluating Later or Expanded Premises Hours for Alcohol in the Night-time Economy, which provided a study update.

Niamh provided the Forum with an overview of the ELEPHANT Study and explained the details of the various updated work packages.

The Forum welcomed the study update and members engaged in constructive dialogue around stakeholder interview/discussion groups and the focus groups with the public.

Members raised discussions around the outcomes of the Study and raised interest in a related study referred to by Niamh. A further update on the ELEPHANT Study at the next Forum meeting was agreed upon.

The Convener encouraged all members to engage with and promote the Forum support for the ELEPHANT study.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)        to note the study update;

(ii)        for a further study update to be provided at the next Forum meeting; and

(iii)       for an update on the related study to be provided to the Forum.

The Forum had before it the Local Licensing Forum Survey 2022 for consideration. The Convener advised that the Scottish Government working with Alcohol Focus Scotland were undertaking a short survey of local licensing board forums/local councils to identify current levels of forum activity, the survey required a single Forum response rather than responses from individual members. The Convener requested and encouraged all members to complete and return the survey to the Convener by Friday 9th September 2022, for a collated response to be submitted.

The Forum resolved:-

to collate individual member responses for a Forum response to the survey to be submitted.

The date of the joint meeting of the Local Licensing Forum and Licensing Board was confirmed as 4 October 2022, to commence immediately after the Licensing Board.

The next meeting of the Forum is scheduled for 20 December 2022.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the dates of the meetings.