Category: Health & Safety & General Purpose Committee

Wirral Council – Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee – Part 1 – 25/5/2011

Present: Cllr Bill Davies (Labour) – Chair Cllr Bob Wilkins (Lib Dem) Cllr Sue Taylor (Conservative) Cllr Ian Lewis (Conservative) Cllr Chris Blakeley (Conservative) Cllr Pat Glasman (Labour) Cllr Steve Niblock (Labour) Cllr Irene Williams (Labour) Cllr Chris Jones (Labour) The Chair asked for any declarations of interest. There were none. The Chair thanked Cllr … Continue reading “Wirral Council – Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee – Part 1 – 25/5/2011”

Present:
Cllr Bill Davies (Labour) – Chair
Cllr Bob Wilkins (Lib Dem)
Cllr Sue Taylor (Conservative)
Cllr Ian Lewis (Conservative)
Cllr Chris Blakeley (Conservative)
Cllr Pat Glasman (Labour)
Cllr Steve Niblock (Labour)
Cllr Irene Williams (Labour)
Cllr Chris Jones (Labour)

The Chair asked for any declarations of interest. There were none. The Chair thanked Cllr Sue Taylor for her hard work and that of the members of the licensing committees. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

There were two different proposals for Vice-Chair. Cllr Ian Lewis and Cllr Chris Blakeley proposed Cllr Sue Taylor. Cllr Irene Williams and Cllr Pat Glasman proposed Cllr Steve Niblock.

A vote was held on Cllr Steve Niblock’s nomination. Five (Labour) councillors voted for, four Lib Dem and Conservative voted against. Safest place to order Cialis online – http://www.noc2healthcare.com/cialis/.

No vote was taken on the proposal of Cllr Sue Taylor as Vice-Chair. Cllr Steve Niblock was elected as Vice-Chair.

The Chair asked for names for the licensing panel. The Conservative Group put forward Cllr Sue Taylor, Cllr Ian Lewis and Cllr Kate Wood. The Chair put forward Cllr Niblock and Cllr Glasman. The Lib Dem councillor Bob Wilkins didn’t state any names but said that he had a list but it was subject to confirmation.

Price of Alcohol – Lib Dem and Tory councillors vote not to raise it – Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee 21st March

Unusually the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee weren’t available. This led to a few jokes from the Cabinet Member for Housing & Community Safety as to what he’d Twitter about it following his recent coverage in the Wirral Globe of the Chair.

The Committee decided to (for this meeting only) have Cllr Ian Lewis (Cabinet Member for Community Engagement) as the Chair. The most interesting item on the agenda was a decision (following consultation) as to whether Wirral would recommend a minimum price (per unit ~50p) for alcohol as a local bylaw.

Many councillors told members of the public present and committee members about their favourite drinks, how alcohol was an issue that needed to be addressed but that putting up the price for Wirral residents wasn’t the answer. They also suggested that raising the price would lead to an increase in shoplifting. A quarter of the consultation responses were from the Birkenhead & Tranmere/Rock Ferry area.

Here were the results

Licensed premises
39% agreed with a minimum unit price for alcohol (384 people)
16% had no strong opinion (159 people)
45% disagreed with a minimum unit price for alcohol (438 people)

Off Licences
44% agreed with a minimum unit price
14% had no strong opinion
42% disagreed with a minimum unit price

People cited issues such as anti social behaviour, young people drinking, violence, noise and criminal damage as some of the problems caused by alcohol. There was also a call for better policing and education.

In the end after a spirited debate the committee voted not to implement one of the “Access to Alcohol by Young People” report’s recommendations and press for a bylaw on Wirral. However with an election less than a month away would you have expected any politician to vote to increase the price of alcohol?

When I dig out my notes, I’ll provide a more detailed report of the meeting.