Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Peach, Winslade and Nawaz.

Councillor Stokes attended as substitute.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held 22 June 2010 were approved as an accurate and true record.

The Committee received a report which outlined changes to the law relating to the licensing of sexual entertainment venues.

There had been recent changes in legislation brought about by Section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 which introduced a new category of sex establishment called a ‘sexual entertainment venue’. These changes would allow local authorities to regulate lap dancing clubs and similar venues under Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act.

Section 27 gave local authorities more powers to control the number and location of lap dancing clubs and similar venues in their area. These powers were not mandatory and would only apply where they were adopted by local authorities. Where adopted, these provisions would allow local authorities to refuse an application on potentially wider grounds than was permitting under the Licensing Act 2003 and would give local people a greater say over the regulation of lap dancing clubs and similar venues in their area.

From April 2010, a change in the law was introduced by the Policing and Crime Act 2009. This change gave local communities a stronger say over the establishment and location of lap dancing clubs and similar establishments in their area. It also gave local authorities more power to reject applications for lap dancing clubs in line with other sex establishments, such as sex shops and sex cinemas. This change in legislation was aimed at recognising that local people had legitimate concerns about where lap dancing clubs were located.

Lap dancing clubs were, at the current time, regulated under the Licensing Act 2003 and required a Premises Licence under Section 1 of the 2003 Act. There were no special provisions made within the 2003 Act for lap dancing clubs and therefore applications were submitted in the same way as a pub or a restaurant. If an application was submitted to the Licensing Authority for a Premises Licence, the only mandatory conditions that applied related to the sale of alcohol. It was only if relevant representations were made by either an interested party or a responsible authority that the Authority could, either following mediation or a hearing, impose other conditions or reject the application.

The powers available to local authorities to control the establishment of lap dancing premises or to impose conditions on their licences was therefore very limited. Following a Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) Consultation with local authorities, the majority of respondents felt that their current powers to regulate lap dancing clubs were inadequate and they therefore wanted the Government to intervene.

Going forward, lap dancing venues were to be regulated under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. It would be up to each local authority to decide whether the provisions of the 1982 Act should apply in their area, so it would therefore possible that the new legislation would not apply all over England and Wales. However, those local authorities that did resolve to adopt Schedule 3, as amended, would be able to impose a wider range of conditions on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.