Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council
Councillors:
54
Wards:
18
Committees:
23
Meetings (2026):
68
Meetings (2025):
75
Meeting
Licensing Committee - Basingstoke & Dean
Meeting Times
Scheduled Time
Start:
Monday, 2nd February 2026
6:30 PM
Monday, 2nd February 2026
6:30 PM
End:
Monday, 2nd February 2026
9:30 PM
Monday, 2nd February 2026
9:30 PM
Meeting Status
Status:
Confirmed
Confirmed
Date:
02 Feb 2026
02 Feb 2026
Location:
Council Chamber - Deanes
Council Chamber - Deanes
Webcast:
Available
Available
Meeting Attendees
Committee Member
Vice Chair of the Resources Committee
Committee Member
Leader of the Conservative Group
Committee Member
Chair of the Human Resources Committee
Vice-Chair
Chair of the Licensing Committee
Reserve
Vice-Chair of the Resident Services Committee
Committee Member
Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee
Committee Member
Chair
Chair of the Licensing Committee
Councillor Tony Jones
Present, as expected
Committee Member
Councillor Samir Kotecha
Apologies
Reserve
Chair of the Audit and Accounts Committee
Councillor Paul Basham
Not required
Reserve
Councillor Hannah Golding
Not required
Reserve
Councillor Alex Lee
Not required
Reserve
Councillor Jenny Vaux
Not required
Agenda
1
Apologies for absence and substitutions
Minutes
Apologies were received from Councillor S Kotecha.
Councillor R Court replaced Councillor J Perry.
Councillor R Court replaced Councillor J Perry.
2
Declarations of interest
Minutes
There were no declarations of interest.
3
Urgent matters
To consider any items of business, other than those shown on this agenda and which, by reason of special circumstances to be stated at the meeting, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.
Minutes
There were no urgent matters.
4
Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2025
The Chair will move that the minutes of the meeting be signed as a correct record. The only part of the minutes that can be discussed is their accuracy.
Attachments:
- Document Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2025 21 Jan 2026
Minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2025 were approved by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
5
Consideration of Mandatory CCTV in Licensed Vehicles
Contact Officer: Emma Coles
This report evaluates whether the Council should introduce mandatory in?vehicle CCTV for licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehicles (PHVs).
This report evaluates whether the Council should introduce mandatory in?vehicle CCTV for licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehicles (PHVs).
Attachments:
- Document Report 21 Jan 2026
- Document Appendix 1 21 Jan 2026
Minutes
The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report, which presented the results of the request from the Committee’s previous request to consider whether mandatory in-vehicle CCTV should be introduced as a licensing condition for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles.
The Licensing Team Leader explained that following a consultation undertaken with licensed drivers and operators, and based on the available evidence, it was recommended to the Committee that there were not compelling grounds based on current evidence to mandate in-vehicle CCTV in licenced Hackney Carriages and private hire vehicles in Basingstoke & Deane.
The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:
· Stated that 42% of consultation respondents supported mandatory CCTV in vehicles, which was considered an unusual outcome for a consultation that proposed a mandatory requirement. The Licensing Team Leader stated that only a third of the council’s licensing trade responded to the consultation.
· The level of public engagement in the consultation was questioned. It was confirmed that community groups had been consulted and the wider public were not part of the consultation. The responses highlighted that mandatory CCTV raised privacy concerns and potential safety benefits.
· Stated that two local authorities in Hampshire, Southampton, and Portsmouth, already required in-vehicle CCTV and it was suggested that preventative safety measures be considered for Basingstoke & Deane. The Licensing Team Leader outlined that crime patterns in those areas differed from Basingstoke & Deane alongside other preventative measures already in place to protect drivers and the wider public.
· The Licensing Team Leader explained that the additional cost of the installation of CCTV in vehicles could force licensed drivers away from the trade which would decrease the overall number of drivers and would have a negative impact for public safety in the nighttime economy.
· Expressed the importance of the local context when assessing the need for mandatory CCTV.
· Acknowledged that making CCTV in vehicles mandatory may not be necessary but central government could mandate it in future if control was transferred away from local authorities to the Ministry of Transport.
· Raised concern that enhanced CCTV coverage at Basingstoke train station may not effectively capture incidents.
· A breakdown was requested for a statistic in the report which stated that 50% of drivers had experienced verbal abuse and stated there was insufficient evidence on the nature and severity of the incidents.
· Asked whether licensees had been offered a phased implementation of CCTV in vehicles during consultation. The Licensing Team Leader advised that responses would not have differed regardless of timeline of implementation.
· Commented that if CCTV were to be made mandatory by the government or council, funding should be provided by the responsible authority.
· Questioned who the responsible body for would be for monitoring the CCTV footage. The Licensing Team Leader confirmed that the Council would be the data holder.
· The Committee voted to support the recommendation as set out in the report, with two councillors voting against and one abstention.
· It was requested that the matter be reviewed again at a future meeting. It was also requested that information from other councils that had implemented CCTV be provided, such as comparative data on verbal abuse and serious incidents in vehicles before and after installation of CCTV.
Resolved: The Committee:
Agrees that on the current evidence, Basingstoke & Deane does not have compelling grounds to mandate in-vehicle CCTV in licenced hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. Note the work which is already underway to improve public safety and reassurance including enhanced CCTV coverage at the taxi rank outside Basingstoke train station.
The Licensing Team Leader explained that following a consultation undertaken with licensed drivers and operators, and based on the available evidence, it was recommended to the Committee that there were not compelling grounds based on current evidence to mandate in-vehicle CCTV in licenced Hackney Carriages and private hire vehicles in Basingstoke & Deane.
The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:
· Stated that 42% of consultation respondents supported mandatory CCTV in vehicles, which was considered an unusual outcome for a consultation that proposed a mandatory requirement. The Licensing Team Leader stated that only a third of the council’s licensing trade responded to the consultation.
· The level of public engagement in the consultation was questioned. It was confirmed that community groups had been consulted and the wider public were not part of the consultation. The responses highlighted that mandatory CCTV raised privacy concerns and potential safety benefits.
· Stated that two local authorities in Hampshire, Southampton, and Portsmouth, already required in-vehicle CCTV and it was suggested that preventative safety measures be considered for Basingstoke & Deane. The Licensing Team Leader outlined that crime patterns in those areas differed from Basingstoke & Deane alongside other preventative measures already in place to protect drivers and the wider public.
· The Licensing Team Leader explained that the additional cost of the installation of CCTV in vehicles could force licensed drivers away from the trade which would decrease the overall number of drivers and would have a negative impact for public safety in the nighttime economy.
· Expressed the importance of the local context when assessing the need for mandatory CCTV.
· Acknowledged that making CCTV in vehicles mandatory may not be necessary but central government could mandate it in future if control was transferred away from local authorities to the Ministry of Transport.
· Raised concern that enhanced CCTV coverage at Basingstoke train station may not effectively capture incidents.
· A breakdown was requested for a statistic in the report which stated that 50% of drivers had experienced verbal abuse and stated there was insufficient evidence on the nature and severity of the incidents.
· Asked whether licensees had been offered a phased implementation of CCTV in vehicles during consultation. The Licensing Team Leader advised that responses would not have differed regardless of timeline of implementation.
· Commented that if CCTV were to be made mandatory by the government or council, funding should be provided by the responsible authority.
· Questioned who the responsible body for would be for monitoring the CCTV footage. The Licensing Team Leader confirmed that the Council would be the data holder.
· The Committee voted to support the recommendation as set out in the report, with two councillors voting against and one abstention.
· It was requested that the matter be reviewed again at a future meeting. It was also requested that information from other councils that had implemented CCTV be provided, such as comparative data on verbal abuse and serious incidents in vehicles before and after installation of CCTV.
Resolved: The Committee:
Agrees that on the current evidence, Basingstoke & Deane does not have compelling grounds to mandate in-vehicle CCTV in licenced hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. Note the work which is already underway to improve public safety and reassurance including enhanced CCTV coverage at the taxi rank outside Basingstoke train station.
6
Adoption of the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026-2031
Contact Officer: Emma Coles
This report presents the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026–2031 for adoption following completion of public consultation.
This report presents the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026–2031 for adoption following completion of public consultation.
Attachments:
- Document Report 21 Jan 2026
- Document Appendix 1 21 Jan 2026
- Document Appendix 2 21 Jan 2026
Minutes
The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report, which presented the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy for adoption following completion of public consultation.The Committee were informed that no changes were made to the policy following the Committee’s decision on 3 November 2025 to approve the Draft Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026-2031.
The Committee discussed the report and commented that there were repetitive sections and inconsistencies in terminology within the report.
Resolved: The Committee:
Approves the adoption of the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026-31 with effect from 3 February 2026.
· Delegates authority to the Licensing Team Leader, in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee, to make any necessary minor alterations and typographical corrections to the policy before it is published.
The Committee discussed the report and commented that there were repetitive sections and inconsistencies in terminology within the report.
Resolved: The Committee:
Approves the adoption of the Furniture on the Highway Licensing Policy 2026-31 with effect from 3 February 2026.
· Delegates authority to the Licensing Team Leader, in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee, to make any necessary minor alterations and typographical corrections to the policy before it is published.
7
Approve the draft Street Trader Policy for consultation
Contact Officer: Emma Coles
The purpose of this report is to highlight to the Licensing Committee the specific policy clarification areas within the Street Trading Policy, and to demonstrate how these changes align with the proposed Fees and Charges for 2026/27, prior to consultation and Council approval.
The purpose of this report is to highlight to the Licensing Committee the specific policy clarification areas within the Street Trading Policy, and to demonstrate how these changes align with the proposed Fees and Charges for 2026/27, prior to consultation and Council approval.
Attachments:
- Document Report 21 Jan 2026
- Document Appendix 1 21 Jan 2026
- Document Appendix 2 21 Jan 2026
Minutes
The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report, which highlighted to the Licensing Committee specific policy clarification areas within the Street Trading Policy and to demonstrate how the changes aligned with the proposed Fees and Charges for 2026/27 prior to consultation and Council approval.
The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:
It was clarified that one appendix contained tracked changes and the other was a clean version. Stated that paragraph 17.1 of the report directed users to the street trading page on the Council’s website to access the required fees, but the pages and links did not show the fees. The Licensing Team Leader confirmed that this would be amended.
The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:
It was clarified that one appendix contained tracked changes and the other was a clean version. Stated that paragraph 17.1 of the report directed users to the street trading page on the Council’s website to access the required fees, but the pages and links did not show the fees. The Licensing Team Leader confirmed that this would be amended.
8
Review of work programme
The Committee is asked to note and review its Work Programme.
Attachments:
- Document Work Programme 21 Jan 2026
Minutes
The Licensing Team Leader updated the Committee of items to be considered at future meetings, including the Updated Animal Policy and Licensing Act 2003 Policy Approval to be considered at the meeting on 15 June 2026.
Following a request, the Licensing Team Leader updated the Committee on the ongoing and recent projects undertaken by the Licensing Team, and highlighted progress across key workstreams. This included strengthened night?time enforcement activity, with officers conducting targeted operations to ensure compliance with licensing conditions and support the safety of the evening and late?night economy. It was stated that licensed premises were promoting initiatives such as Ask for Angela and other safe drinking policies.
The Committee was also informed of the team’s continued partnership working with agencies such as the police, community safety teams, and other stakeholders, which aimed to promote public safety through a coordinated approach to licensing. The team’s involvement with Operation Makesafe alongside other initiatives was detailed.
Following a request, the Licensing Team Leader updated the Committee on the ongoing and recent projects undertaken by the Licensing Team, and highlighted progress across key workstreams. This included strengthened night?time enforcement activity, with officers conducting targeted operations to ensure compliance with licensing conditions and support the safety of the evening and late?night economy. It was stated that licensed premises were promoting initiatives such as Ask for Angela and other safe drinking policies.
The Committee was also informed of the team’s continued partnership working with agencies such as the police, community safety teams, and other stakeholders, which aimed to promote public safety through a coordinated approach to licensing. The team’s involvement with Operation Makesafe alongside other initiatives was detailed.
Previous Meetings
Join the Discussion
You need to be signed in to comment.
Sign in