WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC        

A period of not more than fifteen minutes shall be allowed for questions submitted by a member of the public who either lives or works in the area of the authority at each ordinary meeting of the Board.

Every question shall be put and answered without discussion by the Chair. The person who asked the question may ask one relevant supplementary question, which shall be put and answered without discussion.

The following written questions have been received from members of the public.

1. Question from Mr Simon Prescott –– Representing “Nice n Naughty” Brighton Licensing Fees

“The licence fee for Sex Shop Establishments under Brighton and Hove Council, is excessively high when compared to numerous other councils across the UK. During the first lockdown, my business, which has to be apply and pay for a Sex Shop Licence annually was required to complete the renewal and to pay the fee in full, even though there was no money coming into the business at all during that time. Taking into consideration that during the two lockdown periods, my business has had to close for a total of 110 days, I would firstly like to know how the Committee justify the licence fee being so high and secondly, how you justify keeping the licence fees paid for days when no licensing works could be completed when all non-essential retail and hospitality venues that require licences to trade were forced to close by the Government.”

1b.    Supplementary Question from Mr Simon Prescott – Representing “Nice n Naughty” Brighton Licensing Fees - Licensing Fees

We have also received advance notification of the following supplementary, follow-on question from Mr Prescott:

During the two lockdown periods my business has been forced to close for a total of 110 days and during this time, I have had no income into my business. Taking this into consideration, will the licence fee for that period be refunded as no work as part of the licensing fee I pay could have been completed due to the closures and will the committee be reducing the astronomical fee they charge annually to bring it in line with other councils who are able to complete the same process for less that £500 a year?