Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Joan Henry.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2023 were agreed as an accurate record with the inclusion of the conversation had on the Night Time Strategy, particularly related to issues of confidence in the Met Police from minority communities and women.

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report which set out the review of the cumulative impact policies within Merton as required under section 5a of the Licensing Act and introduced by section 141 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

The report detailed requirements for consideration and followed the statutory guidance set under the Licensing Act 2003 which included consultation with the Met Police, Fire Brigade, Director of Public Health and all bodies who represented local premise licenses, personal licenses and other local community board members interested in the licensing act.

At present, the two cumulative impact policies in Merton were in Wimbledon High Street and Mitcham Town Centre with Mitcham Town Centre.

Matters to be reviewed when drafting a policy would be crime and disorder and social behaviour as well as health impacts that included alcohol related emergency attendance and hospital admissions.

Due to the impact of COVID to the high street and night time economy, exceptions to the policy were to be considered if applicants supplied a business model which promoted licensing objectives. Details of such exceptions were detailed in the report.

Once evidence from the cumulative assessment was complete, it was proposed that the draft policy would be brought back to committee in September with a view of approval to then send out for consultation.

In response to questions raised from members, Caroline confirmed the following:

·         When the cumulative impact policies were introduced in 2005 there was no statutory basis for the collection of evidence which was why it was later introduced by the Policing and Crime Act, to ensure policies were not in place indefinitely. There was now a legal threshold to ensure that there was a reason to maintain cumulative impact policies.

·         Police data remained key in evaluating anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder.

·         Applications within a cumulative impact zone would not automatically be refused, data on how many premises licenses were issued will be shared once data has been collated. Applications without any relevant representation were legally required to be granted. If relevant representation was received, the application would go to a Licensing Sub Committee.

·         Members of the Trading Standards Team visited premises within Merton to carry out underage test purchases and check that the Challenge 25 policy was being complied with. Due to public safety, they mainly focussed on off licenses and worked alongside the police. Data from the last three years will be shared in September.

·         Licensing would be happy to look into gaining data from civil societies and voluntary organisations to help identify any hotspots. Although not listed in the report, CCTV data has also been used to help identify alcohol sales and street drinking.

·         Licensing worked with the Police on women’s safety data, which will be shared in September. Premises were encouraged to join their local pub watch and if members were aware of any issues they could contact the Licensing Team who would investigate further.

·         Dispersal policies could be amended to help address concerns of residents being impacted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.