Agenda and minutes

To receive declarations of interest from Members on items contained within the agenda

There were no declarations of interest stated.

Resolved:    That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 January, 2026 be agreed as a correct record.

Consideration was given to a report which updated Members on a recently published document  “The National Licensing Policy Framework for the hospitality and leisure sectors”.

In Spring 2025 The Government established a task force whose aim was to update the licensing system.  The recommendations of the task force were set out at paragraph 1.2 of the report.

To date, all but the National Licensing Policy Framework (NLPF) were still under consultation.

With regard to the NLPF, the publishing department responded by acknowledging the merits of having a national framework for Local Authorities.  A link to the NLPF could be found at paragraph 15.2 of the report.

The NLPF was broken down into 7 sections and those were outlined at paragraph 2.3 of the report.

Resolved:      That the contents of the report be noted

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To receive declarations of interest from Members on items contained within the agenda

There were no declarations of interest stated.

Consideration was given to a report updating Members on the recent consultation for the renewal of the Newcastle Town Centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) and to seek approval for the implementation of the Order.

Newcastle Town Centre had had an active PSPO since 2019 and the main issues within the town centre were highlighted at paragraph 1.4 of the report.

Paragraph 3.1 of the report outlined the proposed prohibitions which all had strong support from the consultation responses which were received.

Councillor John Williams stated that it was important for people to come into town and feel safe.  He asked whether the CCTV was part of the Newcastle Town Centre PSPO.

Members were advised that there were over 100 cameras in and around the town centre and was constantly monitored by Stoke on Trent City Council and it was used by the police on a regular basis.

The Chair asked if the CCTV was monitored constantly or from time to time and if it was one company that did the monitoring.

Members were advised that it was monitored 24/7 and was based In the Stoke on Trent Offices by their staff and had extensive coverage in and around the town centre.

Councillor Sweeney stated that he was happy to see that it had been expanded to Station Walks and to see the inclusion of temporary structures on the PSPO.

Councillor Whitmore asked how long CCTV recordings were saved for.

Members were advised that it was saved for thirty days.  However, any footage that was deemed or logged as evidence could be kept for a longer period.

Resolved:    That the Licensing and Public Protection Committee considers the

content of this report, reviews consultation outcomes and provides approval of the Order for implementation.

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Consideration was given to a report notifying Members of an open consultation that sought views on making all local transport authorities in England responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

Members were referred to paragraph 2 of the report which set out other Government workstreams which were ongoing alongside of the consultation.

The suggested benefits of the proposal were outlined at paragraph 2.7 of the report.

A draft response to the consultation was attached at Appendix A and would need to be submitted by 1 April, 2026.

Councillor Sweeney stated that he did not think that it would save money and it seemed to be the next stage of removing licensing powers from Borough Councils.  The consultation did not include anything regarding improving things.

Councillor John Williams stated that longer serving Councillors had seen services sliced year on year and did not agree with this proposal.  He asked if it would be the County Council that would take on the licensing function.

It was confirmed that it would be the County Council as they were the current Local Transport Authority for Staffordshire.

The Chair agreed with everything that had been said.  However we were required to do this even with Local Government Reorganisation in the pipeline. 

Councillor Adcock, referring to question 13, stated that standards were really important and moving round who dealt with taxi licensing did not solve the key problem about having National Standards.  He asked , if this were to happen, when there was a taxi licensing case, it would be heard at Stafford and would that cause issues including case load.

Members were advised that one possible solution would be for local offices to be retained for meetings to be held in the locality of the taxi driver/operator.   It could also be likely that a number of licensing staff from the various boroughs and districts from around Staffordshire could move into Staffordshire County Council and form a licensing team.

 Resolved:   (i)       That the contents of the report be noted; and

(ii)             That Officers submit a response to the consultation having considered Officers’ proposed information.

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To consider the minutes of the Public Protection Sub-Committees which have met since the previous Licensing and Public Protection Committee.

Resolved:    That the Minutes of the meetings held on 14 January, 27 January

and 4 February, 2026 be received.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the attached report, because it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no confidential business.

To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act 1972

There was no urgent business.