The Licensing Committee of Brent Council met on Tuesday 9 June 2026 to discuss the appointment of members to its sub-committees. The meeting's agenda focused on the composition of the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee and the Regulatory Sub-Committee, ensuring political balance in their appointments.

Licensing Sub-Committee Appointments and Decision-Making

A key item on the agenda was the review and determination of political group representation on the Regulatory Sub-Committee. The report outlined the committee's duty to make appointments in accordance with the wishes of the political groups concerned, a process that also extended to the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee. The report detailed how political balance rules, as prescribed by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and supplemented by the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, would be applied to ensure the sub-committee's composition reflected the overall political balance of the Council. This involved allocating seats based on the proportion of councillors belonging to each political group. The report noted that while political balance rules are not legally required for the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee due to the practicalities of frequent and sometimes urgent hearings, they are statutory for the Regulatory Sub-Committee. The report also outlined the delegations approved for both sub-committees, including those for considering and determining applications under the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005, as well as other licensing and registration functions.

Appointment to Sub-Committees

Following the discussion on appointments and decision-making arrangements, the committee was scheduled to consider the specific appointments to the sub-committees for the 2026-2027 municipal year. The report indicated that the proposed appointments, which had been previously circulated for reference at the Annual Council Meeting on 20 May 2026, were attached for the committee's consideration. The agenda listed the Alcohol & Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee and the Regulatory Sub-Committee, with proposed members and substitute members to be drawn from the Licensing Committee membership. The proposed appointments for the Alcohol & Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee included Councillor P. Ahmed (Chair) and Councillor Aden (Vice Chair), both from the Labour group, along with Councillor Mahmood. For the Regulatory Sub-Committee, the proposed members were Councillor P. Ahmed (Chair) and Councillor Aden (Vice Chair) from the Labour group, Councillor Chowdhury from the Conservative group, Councillor Clinton from the Liberal Democrats, and Councillor Gallagher from the Green group.

The meeting also included standard procedural items such as apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and the approval of minutes from the previous meeting held on Wednesday 25 May 2025. A slot for any other urgent business was also included.