The Licensing & General Purposes Committee convened to address personal licence reviews, ultimately deciding to revoke the personal licences of two individuals due to driving offences and failure to notify the council of their convictions. Councillor Farhaan Rehman was appointed Chair of the meeting.

Revocation of Personal Licences

The committee convened to review two personal licences under section 132A of the Licensing Act 2003, which allows the council to consider suspending or revoking a personal licence if the holder has committed a relevant offence¹. In both cases, the personal licence holders were not in attendance, and the committee proceeded in their absence after determining that they had been properly notified of the hearing and given the opportunity to make representations.

Personal Licence Review (1)

The committee resolved to revoke the personal licence of Personal Licence Holder (1). The licence holder had been convicted on 14 February 2024 at Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates' Court for driving with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit.

The Regulatory Manager of the Licensing Authority stated that the Licence Holder had not informed the court that he held a personal licence, and had also failed to notify the Local Authority of the conviction, as required.

The committee noted that the personal licence holder was a Designated Premises Supervisor for two premises outside of the borough.

The committee decided to revoke the Personal Licence, stating that:

The Committee was satisfied that the Personal Licence holder had committed a relevant offence under Schedule 4 of the Act. Furthermore, it was noted by the Committee that following his conviction, the Personal Licence holder failed to both notify the court under section 128 of the Act and to notify the Licensing Authority of his conviction as required by section 132 of the Act, which in itself are offences. The Committee were disappointed by the Licence Holder’s failure to respond to the notice and to attend the hearing despite being made aware of the same.

Personal Licence Review (2)

The committee resolved to revoke the personal licence of Personal Licence Holder (2). The licence holder was convicted on 4 November 2024 at Staines Magistrates' Court for driving with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit and for failure to comply with a traffic sign.

The Regulatory Manager explained that the Licensing Authority was not notified by the court of the conviction, and that the Licence Holder had not informed the court that he held a personal licence. The Licence Holder had also failed to notify the Local Authority of the conviction, as required.

The Regulatory Manager confirmed that the Personal Licence Holder was a Designated Premises Supervisor for a business in the borough.

The committee decided to revoke the Personal Licence, stating that:

The Committee was satisfied that the Personal Licence holder had committed a relevant offence under Schedule 4 of the Act. Furthermore, it was noted by the Committee that following his conviction, the Personal Licence holder failed to both notify the court under section 128 of the Act and to notify the Licensing Authority of his conviction as required by section 132 of the Act, which in itself are offences. The Committee were disappointed by the Licence Holder’s failure to respond to the notice and to attend the hearing despite being made aware of the same.

Appointment of Chair

Councillor Farhaan Rehman was appointed Chair of the Licensing & General Purposes Committee. He thanked Councillors Gabriella Giles, Karen Smith, and Karamat Malik for their attendance.