Agenda and minutes

The Forum had before it the minute of the previous meeting.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        With reference to item 1, to note that Mr Mongru’s name was spelled incorrectly and to instruct the Clerk to make the necessary revisions;

(ii)       to revise item 1 to read “that the assessment may produce recommendations for the Board’s consideration but confirmed that a report would first be submitted to the Forum to develop and endorse the final recommendations of the Health Impact Assessment”;

(iii)      to revise item 10 to read that “a series of public engagement events had been scheduled to provide a forum for  community engagement and feedback in identifying local health and wellbeing priorities”; and

(iv)       otherwise approve the minute as a correct record.

With reference to item 5, the Convener noted that no response had thus far been received from Cllr Boulton with regard to his letter sent on 27 June 2017. The Forum agreed that this was disappointing and resolved to raise this issue at the Joint Licensing Meeting;

With reference to item 5, to note that the Joint Meeting had been rearranged for 31 August 2017;

With reference to item 5, the Clerk advised that he had liaised with the Vice Convener and confirmed that pending final checks the next meeting of the Forum would be held at Soul Bar;

With reference to item 5, Emily Queen advised that an off sales representative had not been identified yet but she would continue to engage with the trade to source a nomination; and

With reference to item 5, Miriam Smith explained that she had identified a potential Young Person’s representative to the Forum but confirmed that they had submitted apologies to today’s meeting. Ms Smith was hopeful that the nominated Young Person’s representative could attend November’s meeting.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        to note that Communication between the Licensing Board and Forum would be an agenda item at the Joint Licensing Meeting on 31 August 2017;

(ii)       to instruct the Clerk to confirm the November meeting venue and inform members as soon as possible; and

(iii)      to request Emily Queen to get in touch with an umbrella group representing Aberdeen off sales premises with a view to identifying an off sales representative to the Forum.

The Convener advised that he supported the greater use of the media to expand the Forum’s profile and increase its capacity to engage potential partners and reach the wider public. As such, the Forum would be required to develop and agree a Communications and Information Sharing Protocol.

Members agreed that the Forum’s priorities should be to attract Community Council, Young Person’s and Off Sales representatives; and requested that the Convener and Miriam Smith prepare the framework for the development of a Communications and Information Sharing Protocol.

The Forum Resolved

(i)        to instruct the Convener to draft an outline of the Forum’s purpose, its membership needs and future intent for discussion amongst members;

(ii)       to instruct Miriam Smith to draft a survey to support the recruitment of new Forum members; and

(iii)      to note that Website Development would be an item for discussion at the Joint Licensing Meeting on 31 August 2017.

The Clerk noted that Laura MacDonald had resigned from Community Council Forum and could no longer be a member of the Licensing Forum. He advised that he was in discussions with the Council’s Community Council Liaison Officer with a view to identifying a new representative to the Forum.

The Forum Resolved

To instruct the Clerk to contact the Council’s Community Council Liaison Officer with a view to identifying a new Community Council representative to the Forum.

The Convener advised that Rebecca Eldon had sent her apologies for today’s meeting and requested that the presentation be deferred until the Forum’s next meeting in November.

Thereafter members were provided an information leaflet on the Ask Angela campaign and intimated their support for the initiative.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to defer the Ask Angela presentation to the Forum’s next meeting;

(ii)       to source the number of calls made to Aberdeen Taxis under the Ask Angela initiative; and

(iii)      to request that members circulate the information leaflet around their respective workplaces.

The Clerk advised that he met with legal officers who supported the Licensing Board and explained that following feedback from Forum members the following agenda items had been agreed thus far:-

• An update from the Depute Clerk to the Licensing Board;
• A progress update on the Statement of Licensing Policy Review;
• The Forum’s role during consultation;
• The Forum’s role in the wider licensing process;
• Communication between the Board and the Forum;
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the Board through an annual performance report; and
• Recent trends in alcohol consumption

The Clerk highlighted that the agenda was being finalised but there was still an opportunity to shape the agenda and noted the deadline would be 12pm on 23 August 2017.

Thereafter members discussed issues they intended to raise at the Joint Meeting, with particular focus on whether the Board would consider adding criteria within the new SLP to oblige applicants to demonstrate compliance with best practice and industry standards.

The Forum Resolved

To note the update.

Miriam Smith provided an overview of the data collection process and the statistics produced by the Children’s Social Work service and highlighted the number of children and families being supported by the service.

Catrin Jeans (Children’s Parliament) summarised the purpose of the Children’s Parliament and advised that issues relating to alcohol misuse and licensing had been a common issue raised by young people as an area of concern which negatively impacted on their feelings of comfort and safety within local communities. She added that through their engagement work, young people responded that they wanted fewer licensed venues; less drinking in public parks; and fewer instances of public drunkenness and volatility. Ms Jeans circulated information on Aberdeen’s Imagineers and noted that she would welcome further engagement with the Forum to support Imagineer aims particularly as 2018 was the Year of Young People in Scotland.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the report and the information provided;

(ii)       to request Catrin Jeans to circulate web links on the purpose and work of the Children’s Parliament; and

(iii)      to instruct the Clerk to liaise with Catrin Jeans to identify a suitable date and forum for further engagement with the Children’s Parliament/Aberdeen Imagineers.

The Convener provided an update on police operations intended to support a safe and secure fresher’s week; and advised that the Chief Constable’s annual report to the Licensing Board had been completed and would likely be submitted to the Board’s next meeting on 10 October 2017.

The Forum Resolved

To note the update.

No update.

The Vice Convener (Unight) noted that Unight organisations had received bystander training and guidance on suicide awareness. She added that the next Unight meeting was on 29 August 2017.

Emily Queen highlighted that the Community Safety Partnership was co-ordinating with Unight in preparation for the upcoming university fresher weeks and Offshore Europe.

The Forum Resolved

To note the update.

Shamini Omnes (Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership) highlighted three reports that had recently been published: (1) Monitoring Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) 2017 presented headline statistics for high level indicators relevant to outcomes that the national alcohol strategy sought to achieve; (2) Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere compared and assessed Australian and UK licensing policies. The report produced an alcohol availability scorecard which evaluated 14 alcohol control policies for their effectiveness in reducing harm and value for money; and (3) Alcohol Related Deaths Statistics – 2 August 2017 found there were 1,265 alcohol related deaths in Scotland which equated to a 10% increase from the previous year. This was the highest annual increase in deaths since 2010.

Ms Omnes also provided a progress update on Health Impact Assessments and noted that the survey response rate amongst the target groups had been disappointing thus far, particularly from the licensed trade.

The Forum Resolved

(i)         to note the update;

(ii)       to instruct the Clerk to circulate the three reports referenced in the update;

(iii)      to instruct the Clerk to add Health Impact Assessments as an agenda item for the Forum’s next meeting; and

(iv)      to request that Emily Queen facilitate a meeting between Rohan Mongru and the Torry Alcohol Action Group.

No further update.

The Forum had before it the Progress Statement.

The Forum Resolved

To note the Progress Statement.

The Clerk requested that the date of the next meeting be moved from Wednesday, 8 November to Thursday, 9 November to avoid a clash with the Council’s Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee.

The Forum Resolved

To agree to reschedule the Forum’s next meeting to 9 November 2017.

INSP KENNETH MCGEOUGH, Convener