To receive apologies for absence.

To receive any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the committee.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the agenda.

To consider an application for a review of a premise licence in respect of Ruby Chinese Takeaway, 23 Union Street, Hereford. HR1 2BT called by Police Sergeant 3456 Reynolds of West Mercia Police.

Members of the licensing sub-committee of the council’s planning and regulatory committee considered the above application, full details of which appeared before the Members in their agenda and the background papers.

Prior to making their decision the members heard from Emma Bowell, Licensing Technical Officer and Sergeant Duncan Reynolds.   The committee also heard from the premises licence holder, Sinh Quang Tran.

West Mercia Police outlined their representation in connection with the review which included:

·                The premises were a well established business licensed for late night refreshment which had operated for a number of years in Union Street Hereford.   

·                The premises were also covered by the special cumulative impact policy which should also be taken into account when reviewing the licence.

·                The police were involved in a Multi Agency Targeted Enforcement (MATE) group which was comprised of a number of agencies including the fire service, UK Border and Immigration Service, HMRC and various departments within Herefordshire Council. The purpose of the group was to ensure legal compliance and to target premises where there was intelligence to suggest that there was significant risk of harm to anyone who works or uses the premises.

·                A MATE operation had taken place at the premises on 7 April 2018 which had been open for business.   The intelligence received was that there were potentially illegal immigrants employed at the premises.   The purpose of the visit had been explained to Mr Tran. 

·                As part of the visit on 7 April, three males and one female had been detained as they were found to be in the country illegally with no right to stay or work in the UK.  

·                Mr Tran had been issued with a civil enforcement penalty as a result of the enforcement visit.

·                At the time of detention, the female had £2,100 in her possession and could not explain why she had that amount of money.   This issue is the subject of further investigation.  

·                It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that all legal checks are completed to ensure that employees have the right to work or stay in the United Kingdom.   

·                Based on the numbers employed by Mr Tran, this was not an isolated incident and is a serious offence.   By failing to undertaken the appropriate checks for new employees, it showed a disregard to the law of the land.    The view of West Mercia Police was that due to the seriousness of the matter that the licence be revoked. 

·                The S182 guidance indicates that consideration be given to revocation as the employment of illegal immigrants is considered to be a serious matter. 

The committee then heard from Mr Tran who stated that he had been running the business for 24 years and had never done anything illegal during this period of time.   He was truly and sincerely apologetic for this mistake.    Mr Tran was ill at the moment and as a result could not cope with a lot of work and had found staff who were willing to help him.    He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider an application for a review of a premise licence in respect of Munchies, 59 Commercial Road, Hereford. HR1 2BD called by Police Sergeant 3456 Reynolds of West Mercia Police.

Members of the licensing sub-committee of the council’s planning and regulatory committee considered the above application, full details of which appeared before the Members in their agenda and the background papers.

Prior to making their decision the members heard from Emma Bowell, Licensing Technical Officer and Sergeant Duncan Reynolds.   The committee also heard from the premises licence holder agent’s, Rob Evans and the manager of the business and the designated premises licence supervisor.

West Mercia Police outlined their representation in connection with the review which included:

·                     The premises were a fast food takeaway operating in the city centre area of Hereford.  

·                     The premises were also covered by the special cumulative impact policy which should also be taken into account when reviewing the licence.

·                     The police were involved in a Multi Agency Targeted Enforcement (MATE) group which was comprised of a number of agencies including the fire service, UK Border and Immigration Service, HMRC and various departments within Herefordshire Council.     The purpose of the group was to ensure legal compliance and to target premises where there was intelligence to suggest that there was significant risk of harm to anyone who works or uses the premises.

·                A MATE operation had taken place at the premises on 28 April 2018 which had been open for business.   The intelligence received was that there were potentially illegal immigrants employed at the premises.  

·                As part of the visit on 28 April, one males had been detained as they were found to be in the country illegally with no right to stay or work in the UK.  

·                At the time of the male was detained, a large amount of cash was seized and he was not able to account where it had come from.  

·                A civil enforcement penalty had been issued as a result of the enforcement visit.

·                It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that all legal checks are completed to ensure that employees have the right to work or stay in the United Kingdom.   

·                The view of West Mercia Police was that due to the seriousness of the matter that the licence be revoked. 

·                The S182 guidance indicates that consideration be given to revocation as the employment of illegal immigrants is considered to be a serious matter. 

The committee then heard from Mr Rob Evans, the agent for the premises licence holder, who stated:

·                That he had sent an email to the police at the end of the previous week offering conditions.  

·                That the box indicating that review had been undertaken by a responsible authority had not been ticked.   It was noted that in the papers issued with the agenda, the relevant box had been marked. 

·                There was also a mistake in the name of the manager of the premises as it should be Rahroz Amin and not Hiwa Karim

·                The manager of the business wished to apologise for the offence taking place.   They had taken over the business in August 2017 and had made a substantive investment in the business.    

·                During the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.