Agenda and minutes

The Convener welcomed everyone to the meeting, including Eleanor Forbes, who was the representative for the Street Pastors.

The Forum had before it the minute of the previous meeting, of 29 November 2022.

"In relation to item 7 of the minute, the point iii) should be removed."

The Forum resolved:-

to otherwise approve the minute.

The Convener invited the Forum members to intimate any matters arising. During the discussion, it was noted that:-

·                a Street Pastors representative had now been progressed;

·                an action from last year’s Joint Licensing Board and Local Licensing Forum meeting was outstanding in relation to the Annual Functions Report;

·                the update for the Licensing Board in December 2022 had been circulated to the Forum;

·                an update had been submitted to the Licensing Board prior to the meeting on 7 February 2023 based on what was being discussed today;

·                the Convener was aware that creating links with other Forums around Scotland had not been progressed; and

·                the Convener raised concerns in relation to the lack of response received from the Licensing Board on questions that had been submitted from the Forum regarding the following three points,

1.         What is the timeline for the Consultation on the new Licensing Policy? (This is to allow the Forum time to finalise a submission prior to the deadline);

2.         What is being done to actively engage with the general community on the new Statement of Licensing Policy in order for them to provide their views?; and

3.         Would the Licensing Board be willing to hear the presentation from the Bon Accord Residential Association (BARA)?

The Forum resolved:-

(i)           to request that Elaine Mottram and JP McGivney complete the Annual Functions Report prior to July 2023;

(ii)          to note that there was general disappointment from the Forum regarding the lack of response received from the Licensing Board;

(iii)         to ensure that creating links with other Forums around Scotland would be progressed by Elaine Mottram; and

(iv)         to note that the Convener would be attending the next Licensing Board meeting on 7 February 2023 to answer any questions or to expand on any matters raised in relation to the Local Licensing Forum.

The Local Licensing Forum nominations for the Convener and Vice Convener posts were submitted and the outcome was announced.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             to note that the current Convener would continue in the same role, namely Elaine Mottram;

(ii)           to note that both Vice Conveners would continue in the same roles, namely William Rae and John Mooney; and

(iii)          to agree that the current Convener and Vice Conveners would continue in their roles for one more term.

The Convener welcomed David Laing to the Local Licensing Forum, who had joined the group to provide a young person’s perspective.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             to agree that David Laing be adopted onto the Local Licensing Forum as a new member with immediate effect; and

(ii)            to request that the other three potential new members be put on hold until they had attended further meetings, namely James Simpson, Lucy Simpson, and a representative from the Street Pastors.

The Convener reminded all members to provide feedback to her in relation to the Forum Survey Report 2022.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             to encourage members to read the Forum Survey Report 2022 and submit ideas to the Convener;

(ii)            to agree that the Forum Survey Report would be used as a framework for the Development Day in May 2023; and

(iii)          to note that the Convener would contact the Scottish Government to request  details on what they plan to do with the findings of the Forum Survey 2022.

Niamh Fitzgerald, lead of the Evaluating Later or Expanded Premises Hours for Alcohol in the Night-time Economy(ELEPHANT) Study, Stirling University was introduced to the meeting via Microsoft Teams, who had been invited by the Convener to give an update.

Niamh provided a summary on the ELEPHANT Study, particularly for the new members of the Forum. During the update, the following was noted:-

·            the ELEPHANT Study looked at changes in closing times in both Aberdeen City and Glasgow City Licensed Premises;

·            Glasgow City were part of a pilot that took place to allow nightclub premises to apply to open until 4am rather than 3am;

·            this change resulted in multiple premises in Aberdeen City, which were not previously eligible to apply for a later licence. Originally, this was restricted to Nightclubs only however, it then changed to allow bars to apply for late night hours;

·            Records showed that around 40-80 premises in Aberdeen City and only 10 premises in Glasgow City had applied for the later licence; and

·            there was a lot of evidence internationally around public health harms from late night opening of premises. (Assaults and alcohol related ambulance call outs). They continued to look at the outcomes in this regard.

There were currently five work packages taking place, which were:-

·            Stakeholder Interviews (recruitment taking place in both Cities)

·            Public Focus Group (including late night venues visits);

·            Statistics on Ambulance call-outs;

·            Economic changes; and

·            What implications would there be for other Cities looking into this? Gathering information around the benefits and risks.

It was noted an event took place in London at the end of 2022, where findings on the previous study were shared regarding public health and licensing. The next event is scheduled for April or May 2023, with the venue to be in Scotland.

Niamh advised the Forum that the Scottish Government recently updated their guidance, section 1.4 sat beside the Licensing Legislation. Alcohol Focus Scotland were currently reviewing the guidance and may offer briefings in due course. The reviews showed that important developments were included in the guidance, for example in allowing more discretion for Boards and weakening the need for a causal link between a particular premises and alcohol harm.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             to note that the Scottish Government did not issue notifications regarding their Consultations, they were published on their website The Scottish Government - gov.scot (www.gov.scot);

(ii)            to note that the Scottish Government website was seeking contributions  in relation to the Restricting Alcohol Advertising and Promotion Consultation https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-restricting-alcohol-advertising-promotion/pages/2/#page-top; and

(iii)          to note that the event details and section 1.4 Guidance would be circulated to members of the Forum in due course.

The Convener reminded the Forum that the Sub Group had been tasked with collating a document in relation to the new Licensing Policy Consultation. Although the Sub Group had only met once, they had done a walk-through of the Statement of Licensing Policy, and were continuing to work on the document.

There were both positive and negative views provided by the group. During the discussion, the following views were shared:-

·            encourage people to accept personal responsibility;

·            accept that nightlife in the city had changed from fifteen years ago and that old traditions were fading;

·            acknowledge that the customers going out in the City were of a different culture;

·            note that statistics revealed that nearly 30% of youngsters describe themselves as t-total;

·            note that a survey showed that one in three young people had never drank any alcohol in a pub;

·            off-sales could be considered to be more of an issue as more people stay at home to drink alcohol;

·            consideration would be required on changing the city from having a vibrant nightlife to take into account other business’ (taxi drivers, café’s, restaurants and the economy as a whole);

·            we should not underestimate the positive mental health that would be provided through socialising in a safe environment and interacting with others;

·            delivery services for alcohol were more popular with underage customers due to the lack of underage checks being carried out; and

·            with a higher percentage of people drinking alcohol at home, would an increase in domestic violence cases be recorded?

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             to note that clarity was required from the Licensing Board in relation to over-provision, including the changes being considered;

(ii)           to update the draft Licensing Policy document with the additional information provided by the Forum today and circulate by the 14 February 2023 for additional comments;

(iii)          to encourage everybody to read the draft document to make sure all views were covered and to advise the Sub Group of any changes as early as possible to allow these to be updated; and

(iv)          to note that the Sub Group would finalise their response by the end of February 2023.

The Convener requested that the meeting dates for 2023 be re-issued to the members of the Forum.

The Forum resolved:-

(i)             that the clerk re-issue the meeting dates for 2023; and

(ii)           to note that the venue may be subject to change at short notice due to the Councillors being given priority over all Committee Rooms.

The Local Licensing Forum were advised that the next meeting would take place on 28 March 2023.

The Forum resolved:-

to note the details of the next meeting.

-                ­ELAINE MOTTRAM, Convener