(i)

heard from the Senior Environmental Officer –

a)

this was the second annual report which aimed to set out the extent of regulated activity enforcement carried out;

b)

reference was made to the Enforcement Activity Report for 2009; this was compiled to give the Licensing Committee an insight into the work undertaken by agencies involved in regulation the Evening and Night Time Economy (NITE);

c)

details were given of the main policy initiatives conducted during 2009 including Licensing, Gambling Establishments, Noise and Public Nuisance, Enforcement, Training and Awareness, Under Age Sales, Liaison between Licensing and other agencies,  and Work Initiatives for 2010;

heard from a Police Licensing Officer that –

d)

the Police Licensing department had carried out 282 alcohol test purchasing operations in 2009, 40 premises sold alcohol and the failure rate had fallen to 14%, this was the lowest recorded since recording started in 2004;

e)

there had been an increase in the number of underage sales in public houses and more work was to be done to combat this;

f)

there had been a increased number of variation applications received in 2009; it was suspected that this could be due to economic reasons;

g)

the Police provided a booklet to licensees in Plymouth which detailed guidance for premises licence holders; contact telephone numbers for the Police Licensing department and the Council’s Licensing department were included in a covering letter;

h)

from a Police perspective the Designated Public Places Order was working effectively based on positive anecdotal evidence; 20 additional signs highlighting the DPPO had been arranged to be erected in and around Beaumont Park;

i)

violent crime had reduced overall by 16% last year with a further reduction of 3% this year; there had been a small increase in the Mutley and Greenbank areas however it was highlighted that more work was to be done;

heard from a Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue representative that –

j)

on 4 January 2010 the fire department was split into two different sections, one for Plymouth and another for South Hams & Devon;

k)

operation fire crews had been visiting premises with a short checklist in order to see what activities they were undertaking, this was a brief snapshot approach in which information could be fed back to a designated officer quickly;

l)

enforcement could range from a non compliance letter  to an enforcement notice, and that failure to comply  with the enforcement notice could result in court action;

m)

214 fire safety checks had been carried out by operation crews from Camels Head, Greenbank, Plympton and Plymstock fire stations;

n)

the fire safety department carried out 21 full audits of premises; these checks were  programmed to fall outside of the fire safety check;

1.

the Senior Environmental Health Officer be thanked for his concise report;

2.

the Police Licensing Officer and Officer from the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue be thanked for their attendance and reports;

3.

the report be noted;