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 representation for political groups 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. This process is intended to support the borough plan by ensuring that decision-making bodies operate transparently and effectively, promoting confidence in the council's governance.

The report detailed the functions of the Licensing Committee, which includes statutory responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005, primarily discharged by the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee. This sub-committee is composed of three members, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the main committee, with the remaining seven members serving as substitutes to ensure availability. The report also noted that there is no legal requirement to apply political balance rules to this specific sub-committee due to the frequent and sometimes urgent nature of licensing hearings.

Additionally, the committee was to consider the Regulatory Sub-Committee, which handles all other licensing and registration functions not related to the Licensing Act 2003 or the Gambling Act 2005. This sub-committee comprises five members. The report explained that statutory political balance rules apply to the main Licensing Committee and, consequently, to the Regulatory Sub-Committee. These rules, derived from the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and supplemented by the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, aim to ensure that the political composition of sub-committees broadly reflects that of the full council.

The report provided the current political composition of Brent Council following the local elections on 7 May 2026:

• Labour Group: 26 councillors (45.61%)
• Conservative Group: 11 councillors (19.30%)
• Liberal Democrat councillors: 11 councillors (19.30%)
• Green councillors: 9 councillors (15.79%)

Based on these figures, the report indicated that the allocation of the five seats on the Regulatory Sub-Committee would be: Labour Group (2 seats), Conservative Group (1 seat), Liberal Democrats Group (1 seat), and Green Group (1 seat). The committee was scheduled to consider the appointments to both sub-committees, giving effect to the wishes of the political groups allocated the seats.

Appointment to Sub-Committees

Following the discussion on the 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 a list of proposed appointments, previously circulated for reference at the Annual Council Meeting on 20 May 2026, had been attached for consideration. The proposed appointments for the Alcohol & Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee included Councillor Ahmed (Chair) and Councillor Aden (Vice Chair), both from the Labour group, and Councillor Mahmood from the Labour group. For the Regulatory Sub-Committee, the proposed appointments were Councillor 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. Substitute members for the Alcohol & Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee were to be drawn from the remaining pool of Licensing Committee members.