The Head of Licensing introduced the report and highlighted the good performance of the partnership, which had not been impacted by home and hybrid working.

In response to questions, the Head of Licensing Partnership confirmed that the other local authorities within the partnership have varying policies, in part due to the varying requirements of each area, and the length of time since the policies’ implementation and review. If required in the future, the policies could be reviewed to align with one another where possible.

In response to further questions, the Head of Licensing Partnership stated that licensing should be a self-financing service, with the income generated to cover the service’s cost only; an example given was the likely permanent transfer of powers to district council, to issue and monitor pavement licensing at an increase fee to fully recover the service’s costs. The Head of Housing and Regulatory Services provided reassurance that budgetary discussions were ongoing amongst the partnership to ensure best value.

The Committee expressed their thanks to the Officers for the work undertaken and the positive performance achieved. The actions taken across the year to assist the Taxi Trade were highlighted.

RESOLVED: That

1.  The performance of the Licensing Partnership as contained within the report be noted; and

2.  The Head of the Licensing Partnership continue to provide an annual update on the Licensing Partnership activity to the Licensing Committee each municipal year.