Agenda and minutes

Venue: Walker Room, Meeting Point House, Southwater Square, Telford TF3 4HS

Contact: Jayne Clarke  01952 383205

Items
No. Item

LIC5

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

LIC6

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 202 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 16 March 2021 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

LIC7

Mobile Homes Fit and Proper Person Test & Fees Policy pdf icon PDF 374 KB

To receive the report of the Public Protection Group Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Public Protection Manager presented the Mobile Homes Fit and Proper Person Test and Fees Policy and gave an overview of the key facts.  Mobile home site owners needed a licence from the Council to operate and the Mobile Homes Act 2013 made amendments to earlier law and introduced a requirement for a manager of a site to be a fit and proper person.  Under the Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person (England) Regulations 2020 set out that an owner must make an application to the Council between 1 July 2021 and 1 October 2021 for a relevant person to be assessed as a fit and proper person.  A fit and proper person was required to be of sufficient integrity and good character to be involved in the management of a regulated site for mobile homes and not post a risk to the welfare or safety of persons occupying the site who are likely to be over 50s.   The application must be accompanied by the fee set by the Council and be compliant with the site licence, include long-term maintenance of the site, demonstrate a sufficient level of competence to manage the site and the management structure and funding arrangements for the site be in place.  Other matters to be considered are the presence of convictions or if the person has been declared personally insolvent.  Once the application has been received the local authority can grant the licence unconditionally, grant a licence subject to conditions or refuse the application.  An appeals process for applicants wishing to appeal any decision made was via a tribunal.   A policy had been drawn up for applications and a guide for local authorities to undertake fit and proper persons test had been developed.  The fee had regard to the impact on the livelihood of licence holders and a guide for fee setting for the fit and proper person test had also been drawn up to ensure a fair and transparent approach for local businesses and communities.  The initial fee was set at £310 and this would be paid by the site owner upon any application for a fit and proper person and this would be reviewed in twelve months’ time.

 

During the debate some members felt that it was pleasing to see that the undervaluing of properties was now being addressed and safeguarding measures put in place.  It was asked if that the profiling relating to Market Town of Newport could be amended to include all local Market Towns.  Concerns were raised as to how the Council would provide training for site owners.  Other Members felt that this could be part of the fit and proper person test in order to ensure that persons put forward were competent and fully understood how to run an establishment.  Questions came forward as to whether a site could employ a management company in place of the site owner, how would this information be checked especially in respect of convictions and harassment  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC7