Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received by Councillors Beardsworth, Davenport, Duffy, G Eales, Graystone, Haque and Sargeant.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2020 were signed by the chair as a true and accurate record.

There were none.

There were none.

There were none.

The Chair moved that the Public and Press be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that there was likely to be disclosure to them of such categories of exempt information as defined by Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972 as listed against such items of business by reference to the appropriate paragraph of Schedule 12A to such Act. Specifically the reports disclosed information relating to the identity of individuals and action taken in relation to the investigation of crime.

The Motion was carried and the public and press were excluded on the basis that information relating to an individual and information which was likely to identify an individual and investigation of crime were contained in the reports.

The licensing officer asked the committee to consider the application for a House to House permit submitted by Gerwyn Davies of East London Textiles limited on 14 February 2020. The charity requested a permit to raise funds under the Kids charity by collecting used children’s clothing, shoes, bedding, handbags, belts, soft toys, perfume and cosmetics from local households. The applicant confirmed that 82% of funding would go direct to the charity and 18% would be deducted to cover expenses, including wages, fuel, printing and admin costs.

No representative attended the committee meeting on behalf of the company. Members had several queries regarding the proposed collection and the financial arrangements in place which may impact on the amount received by the charity.

The Solicitor explained to Members their options and after careful consideration the committee made their decision.

Resolved:

The Committee had carefully considered the information in the report.

The Committee made the following findings:

A.   That whilst some information is very clear and addresses certain criteria covered by the Act, there is still information which is required to allow the Committee to decide whether a licence should be granted.

B.   They considered it appropriate to give the applicant an opportunity to address their concerns and provide additional information to allow them to make that decision.

C.   In the circumstances it was appropriate to adjourn to let them provide this information at the next meeting of the Committee.

Accordingly, the Committee ADJOURNS the application for a house to house collections licence to the next meeting of the Committee to allow the applicant to provide the following information:

i.              Financial statements of the company; and

ii.            Details of the remuneration paid to the directors and staff.

The Committee also stated that it would be helpful for a representative of the company to attend to answer any questions which they may have about the arrangements between them and the charity. 

The licensing officer asked the committee to consider the application for a House to House permit submitted by Gerwyn Davies of East London Textiles limited on 14 February 2020. The charity requested a permit to raise funds on behalf of the national charity, Bliss, by collecting used clothing, shoes, bedding, handbags, belts, soft toys, perfume and cosmetics from local households. The applicant confirmed that 82% of funding would go direct to the charity and 18% would be deducted to cover expenses, including wages, fuel, printing and admin costs.

No representative attended the committee meeting on behalf of the company. Members had several queries regarding the proposed collection and the financial arrangements in place which may impact on the amount received by the charity.

The Solicitor explained to Members their options and after careful consideration the committee made their decision.

Resolved:

The Committee had carefully considered the information in the report.

The Committee made the following findings:

A.   That whilst some information is very clear and addresses certain criteria covered by the Act, there is still information which is required to allow the Committee to decide whether a licence should be granted.

B.   They considered it appropriate to give the applicant an opportunity to address their concerns and provide additional information to allow them to make that decision.

C.   In the circumstances it was appropriate to adjourn to let them provide this information at the next meeting of the Committee.

Accordingly, the Committee ADJOURNS the application for a house to house collections licence to the next meeting of the Committee to allow the applicant to provide the following information:

i.              Financial statements of the company; and

ii.            Details of the remuneration paid to the directors and staff.

The Committee also stated that it would be helpful for a representative of the company to attend to answer any questions which they may have about the arrangements between them and the charity. 

The licensing officer asked the committee to consider the application for a House to House permit submitted by Julia Bykova of ECS Textiles Ltd on 7 February 2020. The charity requested a permit to raise funds on behalf of Transformation for Veterans, a national charity, by collecting used clothing from local households. The applicant confirmed that 80% of funding would go direct to the charity and 20% would be deducted to cover expenses, including wages, fuel, printing and admin costs. The applicant had been previously granted permission by the Borough Council of Wellingborough in 2020.

No representative attended the committee meeting on behalf of the company. Members had several queries regarding the proposed collection and the financial arrangements in place which may impact on the amount received by the charity. In particular they were concerned about the loan which was owed by the charity to the director, Joe O’Connor and in relation to action that was taken against the charity by the Fundraising Regulator following a complaint which was made regarding the posting of collection envelopes through a letter box.

The Solicitor explained to Members their options and after careful consideration the committee made their decision.

Resolved:

The Committee had carefully considered the information in the report.

The Committee made the following findings:

A.   That whilst some information is very clear and addresses certain criteria covered by the Act, there is still information which is required to allow the Committee to decide whether a licence should be granted.

B.   They considered it appropriate to give the applicant an opportunity to address their concerns and provide additional information to allow them to make that decision.

C.   In the circumstances it was appropriate to adjourn to let them provide this information at the next meeting of the Committee.

Accordingly, the Committee ADJOURNS the application for a house to house collections licence to the next meeting of the Committee to allow the applicant to provide the following information:

i.              Details of the loan made to the Charity by its director; and

ii.            The action taken by the Fundraising Regulator in relation to the charity. 

The Chair invited councillors and officers to introduce themselves to the applicant and asked Mr Ahmed to introduce himself for those who were not present at the previous meeting.

The Licensing officer summarised the supplementary report that had been circulated prior to the meeting.

Accordingly, the Committee GRANTS the application for a private hire driver’s licence.