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Agenda and draft minutes

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Contact: Kisi Smith-Charlemagne, Senior Committee and Governance Officer  Email:  kscharlemagne@westminster.gov.uk Tel: 020 7641 2783

Items
No. Item

1.

Membership

To report any changes to the membership.

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

1.

Brassiere Cafe Med, 21 Loudoun Road, London, NW8 0NB pdf icon PDF 4 MB

App

No

Ward /

Cumulative Impact Area

Site Name and Address

Application

Licensing Reference Number

1.

Abbey Road Ward /

not in a cumulative impact area

Brassiere Cafe Med, 21 Loudoun Road, London, NW8 0NB

Review

18/12993

/LIREVP

 

Minutes:

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 3

Tuesday 19th February 2019

 

Membership:              Councillor Melvyn Caplan (Chairman), Councillor Susie Burbridge and Councillor Aziz Toki

 

Legal Adviser:             Horatio Chance

Committee Officer:     Andrew Palmer

Presenting Officer:     Daisy Gadd

 

Present:  Mr Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Ms Latifa Grant (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), James McGinley (representing the Licence Holder) and Louise Heighes (Designated Premises Supervisor).

 

 

Brasserie Café Med, 21 Loudoun Road London NW8 0NB

18/12993/LIREVP (“The Premises”)

 

 

An application had been submitted by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement), for a review of the premises licence for Brasserie Café Med, 21 Loudoun Road, London, NW8 0NB (the Premises) on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder.

 

Officers from Immigration Enforcement had conducted a visit to the Premises on 22 June 2018, and had arrested three subjects as overstayers with no right to work in the UK. In light of the three subjects found working illegally, Home Office Immigration Enforcement wished to seek revocation of the premises licence.  

 

Immigration Enforcement had now contacted the Licensing Authority to advise that due to the fact that forged documents had been used by some of the workers to gain employment, and that it would not be reasonable to expect the licence holder to know that they were forged, it was that their application for the review of the licence be withdrawn and that the hearing should be dispensed with. 

 

Prior to opening the Committee for discussion, the Committee wanted to discuss a preliminary issue and sought clarification from the Legal Advisor regarding the request for withdrawal. The Legal Advisor stated that under the Licensing Act 2003 it was a mandatory requirement to hold a hearing in relation to the review of a premises licence and that any such request to withdraw the application for review should be made directly to the Committee to consider the evidence put forward in that respect.

 

 

Decision:

 

After the Hearing had been formally opened, Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant) addressed the Committee and confirmed that the Home Office wished the application for revocation to be withdrawn. 

 

James McGinley (representing the Licence Holder) also addressed the Committee, and confirmed that he did not wish to comment further, unless asked to address a specific issue.

 

The Committee recognised that asking for revocation of a licence was a major and severe step that had to be treated seriously; and that there were a number of alternative measures to revocation that could have been taken, which included imposing conditions if it were minded to do so

 

In reaching its decision, the Committee considered the request for withdrawal of the application carefully, and had sympathy for the premises licence holder who had experienced many months of uncertainty.  The parties attending the hearing agreed that the process had been unsatisfactory, and that lessons needed to be learned by the Home Office to ensure that immigration enforcement was dealt with in a professional and appropriate way that was fair to all parties. The Committee also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

Noura Brassiere, 11-12 William Street, London, SW1X 9HL pdf icon PDF 16 MB

App

No

Ward /

Cumulative Impact Area

Site Name and Address

Application

Licensing Reference Number

2.

Knightsbridge and Belgravia Ward /

not in a cumulative impact area

Noura Brassiere, 11-12 William Street, London, SW1X 9HL

Review

18/13511/

LIREVP

 

Minutes:

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 3

Tuesday 19th February 2019

 

Membership:              Councillor Melvyn Caplan (Chairman), Councillor Susie Burbridge and Councillor Aziz Toki

 

Legal Adviser:             Horatio Chance

Committee Officer:     Andrew Palmer

Presenting Officer:     Daisy Gadd

 

Present:  Mr Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Ms Latifa Grant (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Mr Nader Bou Anton (Premises Licence Holder) and Ms Sadaf Ali (Solicitor, representing the Licence Holder).

 

 

 

Noura Brasserie, 11-12 William Street, London SW1X 9HL

18/13511/LIREVP (“The Premises”)

 

 

An application had been submitted by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement), for a review of the premises licence for Noura Brasserie, 11-12 William Street, London SW1X 9HL (the Premises) on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder.

 

Officers from Immigration Enforcement had conducted a visit to the Premises on 10 June 2018, and had arrested five subjects with no right to work in the UK. In light of the five subjects found working illegally, Home Office Immigration Enforcement wished to seek revocation of the premises licence.  

 

 

 

Decision:

 

Mr Brian Anderson and Ms Latifa Grant addressed the Committee on behalf of the Home Office (“The Applicant”), and confirmed that they were familiar with the case and could provide binding commitments and answers to questions.

 

Ms Grant confirmed to the Committee that following receipt of an allegation, the Home Office had visited the Premises and found that five of the employees were working in the UK illegally. The Committee noted that visitors could be granted a visa that enabled them to work in the UK for six months. If the visitor continued to work without applying to extend their visa they could no longer work legally , and would be shown on the Home Office records as having overstayed. Ms Grant informed the Committee that it was part of the employer’s responsibilities to carry out checks to ensure that their employees had the right to work legally in the UK, and to review those checks and procedures as and when required and where appropriate obtain evidence of workers making an application to the Home Office to extend their visa. 

 

The Home Office confirmed to the Committee that proof of identity and eligibility to work could be provided by documentation that included passports, ID cards, National Insurance cards, bank accounts and job seekers paperwork. Although further checks could be carried out by the employer’s accountant to identify overstayers, the Home Office emphasised that confirmation of eligibility to work was the employer’s responsibility.

 

Ms Sadaf Ali addressed the Committee on behalf of the Licence Holder, who had evidence that all of the prescribed checks seeking proof of identity, eligibility to work and financial arrangements had been carried out prior to the workers being given contracts of employment. Ms Ali considered that there had been no wrong doing by the Applicant, as the checks had appeared correct, and the Licence Holder had been unaware that the documentation had been forgeries. The Licence Holder’s accountant had also been satisfied with the supporting paperwork, and had no reason  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Sushi Eatery, 40 Frith Street, London, W1D 5LN pdf icon PDF 2 MB

App

No

Ward /

Cumulative Impact Area

Site Name and Address

Application

Licensing Reference Number

3.

West End Ward /

West End Cumulative Impact Area

Sushi Eatery, 40 Frith Street, London, W1D 5LN

Review

18/12982/

LIREVP

 

Minutes:

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 3

Tuesday 19th February 2019

 

Membership:              Councillor Melvyn Caplan (Chairman), Councillor Susie Burbridge and Councillor Aziz Toki

 

Legal Adviser:             Horatio Chance

Committee Officer:     Andrew Palmer

Presenting Officer:     Daisy Gadd

 

Present:  Mr Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Ms Latifa Grant (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Mr Fook Moon Chan (Premises Licence Holder), Mr Wai Keun Cheong (Director) and Ms Safar Nasrandi (legal representative for the licence holder).

 

 

 

 

 

Sushi Eatery, 40 Frith Street, London W1D 5LN

18/12982/LIREVP (“The Premises”)

 

 

An application had been submitted by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement), for a review of the premises licence for Sushi Eatery, 40 Frith Street, London W1D 5LN (the Premises) on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder.

 

Officers from Immigration Enforcement had conducted a visit to the Premises on 25 June 2018, and had arrested five subjects who had no right to work in the UK. In light of the five subjects found working illegally, the Home Office wished to seek revocation of the premises licence.  

 

 

Decision:

 

Latifa Grant (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant) addressed the Committee, and advised that following discussions between the Home Office and the licence holder, it had been agreed that a request would be made for the application for revocation to be withdrawn, subject to conditions being imposed on the premises licence which set out the measures that would be taken to ensure prospective employees had the right to work in the UK.

 

The Committee agreed to adjourn the Hearing for 30 minutes, to enable the parties to agree the content of the further proposed conditions.

 

When the Committee reconvened, the following proposed conditions were tabled:

 

1)    No person shall be allowed to work (including permanently, temporarily or on a trial basis) at the premises unless they have and are able to demonstrate the right to work.

 

2)    Right to work checks shall be carried out by the Premises Licence Holder or an individual authorised by the Premises Licence Holder on all persons carrying out work within the premises, whether paid or otherwise, temporary or permanent, before those persons commence work. The documentation for each such person shall include the original documents to show they have a right to work in the UK and date-stamped colour copies of all documents produced and enquiries made shall be retained on the premises confirming the name of the person who has checked the original documents, any enquiries made. This information shall be retained in each case for a minimum of 3 years. Such copies to be kept on the premises and made available for immediate inspection by Police, Licensing or Immigration Officers. 

 

3)    Right to work audits of all persons working at the premises shall be carried out at least annually, and sooner where any visas are time limited and where the status of the person to remain in the UK has changed. Records of said audits shall be retained for a period of at least 3 years and made available  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Tuk Tuk Noodle Bar, 56 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4UE pdf icon PDF 1 MB

App

No

Ward /

Cumulative Impact Area

Site Name and Address

Application

Licensing Reference Number

4.

West End Ward /

West End Cumulative Impact Area

TukTuk Noodle Bar, 56 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4UE

Review

18/13165/

LIREVP

 

Minutes:

 

            LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 3

Tuesday 19th February 2019

 

Membership:              Councillor Melvyn Caplan (Chairman), Councillor Susie Burbridge and Councillor Aziz Toki

 

Legal Adviser:             Horatio Chance

Committee Officer:     Andrew Palmer

Presenting Officer:     Daisy Gadd

 

Present:  Mr Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Ms Latifa Grant (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant), Mr Sonny Yin Wei Huang (Licensee), and Ms Tara O’Leary(Counsel, on behalf of the Licensee).

 

 

 

Tuk Tuk Noodle Bar, 56 Old Compton Street, London W1D 4UE

18/13165/LIREVP (“The Premises”)

 

 

An application had been submitted by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement), for a review of the premises licence Tuk Tuk Noodle Bar, 56 Old Compton Street, London W1D 4UE (the Premises) on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder.

 

Officers from Immigration Enforcement had conducted a visit to the Premises on 22 June 2018, and had arrested four subjects who had no right to work in the UK. The first subject was an illegal entrant and was arrested and detained; the second was found to be an overstayer and was arrested and detained; the third was found to be an overstayer and was bailed; and the fourth was found to be working in breach of his conditions and was arrested and detained. In light of the four subjects found working illegally, Home Office Immigration Enforcement wished to seek revocation of the premises licence, which was held by Apogee Enterprises Ltd.  

 

On 26 October 2018, the lease and business relating to the Premises were sold to Huang Holdings Ltd, and the premises licence subsequently transferred under delegated authority. The Premises were currently undergoing refurbishment.

 

At the time of the purchase, Huang Holdings Ltd had been unaware of any breach of statutory requirements that related to the Premises or its use or occupation, and did not take over any of the seller’s employees.

 

The Home Office had now contacted the Licensing Authority to advise that after due consideration of the information provided in relation to the change of ownership of the lease and business, Immigration Enforcement had agreed that it would not be appropriate to proceed with the review and had requested that the application for review should be withdrawn.

 

Prior to opening the Committee for discussion, the Committee wanted to discuss a preliminary issue and sought clarification from the Legal Advisor regarding the request for withdrawal. The Legal Advisor stated that under the Licensing Act 2003 it was a mandatory requirement to hold a hearing in relation to the review of a premises licence and that any such request to withdraw the application for review should be made directly to the Committee to consider the evidence put forward in that respect.

 

 

 

Decision:

 

After the Hearing had been formally opened, Brian Anderson (on behalf of the Home Office/Applicant) addressed the Committee and confirmed that the Home Office wished the application for revocation to be withdrawn. 

 

Ms O’Leary(Counsel, on behalf of the Licensee) addressed the Committee, and confirmed that Huang Holdings Ltd had purchased the Premises as a new business,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.