Dundee Licensing Forum - 18/11/2008
At a MEETING of the DUNDEE LICENSING FORUM held at Dundee on 18th November, 2008.
Present:-
Colin RATTRAY
Jimmy MONAGHAN
Hamish TAIT
John PEARSON
Graeme PETRIE
Bryan COLEMAN
Steve CUMMING
In Attendance:-
Carole ROBERTSON
Maureen MORAN
Colin RATTRAY, in the Chair.
I APOLOGIES
Apologies were intimated from Morag Douglas, John Mitchell/Moira Ogilvie, Jonathan Stewart, Liz Kay, Steven Dalton and Chris Sloan.
II PRESENTATION - FOCUS ON ALCOHOL ANGUS PROJECT
Eileen McArthur, Focus on Alcohol Angus Project Manager, gave an outline of the development of the project, with examples of the various initiatives being undertaken.
It was noted that both the Dundee and Perth & Kinross DAATs were interested in developing similar models of alcohol work in their local areas, and Eileen was carrying out a scoping exercise in this connection.
She would report back to the Dundee DAAT in due course, and at that stage the Licensing Forum might wish to consider its role in developing a similar project.
III MEMBERSHIP OF THE FORUM
(a) It was reported that Liz Kay would replace Kenny Lindsay as a member of this Group representing young people.
(b) The Forum agreed to invite Kirsty Licence, NHS Scotland, to become a member of the Forum, representing health.
(c) It was reported that intimation had been received from the Dundee Licensed Trade Association that Mr Steve Cumming (The Ship Inn) would replace Mr Gerry Morrison who has recently retired from the trade and the Association.
The forum welcomed Mr Cumming to his first meeting.
IV MINUTE OF MEETING OF 2ND SEPTEMBER, 2008
The minute of the above meeting was submitted and approved.
V DUNDEE LICENSING FORUM - REVIEW OF 2007/2009
There was submitted a report by the Chairman outlining the activities of the Dundee Licensing Forum since its inception in September 2007.
The Forum noted its activities over this period, and approved its further objectives which were to:-
- continue to respond to issues and consultation documents from the Scottish Government, the Licensing Board and any other bodies;
- give advice and make recommendations to the Licensing Board in relation to any matters the Forum considers appropriate, with the exception of individual licensing applications;
- continue to work with other agencies on specific projects to further the licensing objectives;
- liaise with forums from other areas and consider best practice;
- strengthen links with the Licensing Board;
- consider widening the representation of the forum to include more meaningful input from the wider community.
VI LICENSING LAW AND THE IMPACT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH OBJECTIVE
There was submitted a briefing paper relative to a Review Paper commissioned by Alcohol Focus Scotland, entitled "Licensing Law and the Impact of Public Health", with a view to assisting Licensing Boards and Forums in addressing this key licensing objective.
The review highlighted that Licensing Board/Licensing Forums cannot make significant changes in the drinking culture alone - they have to work in multi-agency partnerships to bring about change in the population.
However, defining the public health objective within the licensing context was difficult at this early stage. Other licensing objectives tended to be more quantifiable or regulatory than that of protecting and improving public health.
As a result, many Licensing Boards' Policy Statements across Scotland did not include detailed sections on how they would address issues concerning public health. This was the case with Dundee Licensing Board's Policy Statement.
The conclusions of the review were that:-
- there needs to be a better definition/understanding of the public health objective for those in Licensing. They need to be better informed both within a local and national context;
- further support is require from Local Authorities to enhance Boards' understanding of how public health is impacted by the Licensing decision-making process;
- at present the picture is not perfect and very fluid - however, a number of practical problems can be overcome with support, eg
development of better local action plans;
the correct member attendance, mix and balance of Licensing Forums;
getting Licensing Standards Officers in place in all areas of Scotland.
- there needs to be development of enhanced multi-agency working that supports Licensing Boards and Licensing Forums establish better links with other related bodies such as Public Health, Community Health Partnerships, Community Safety Partnerships, etc;
- with better understanding of what is meant by public health in the wider sense, there is potential for more informed decisions regarding Licensing and public health impact.
After a full discussion, it was agreed that the issue of how to take forward the Public Health objective should be considered at the joint meeting of the Board and the Forum in December.
VII PROPOSED MEETING DATES FOR 2009
Tuesday, 3rd March, 2009, 2 pm, City Chambers
Tuesday, 2nd June, 2009, 2 pm, City Chambers
Tuesday, 1st September, 2009, 2 pm, City Chambers
Tuesday, 1st December, 2009 (Joint Meeting with Licensing Board), 2 pm, City Chambers
Additional meeting would be called as required.