10 REGULATION OF SEX ESTABLISHMENTS - LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISONS) ACT 1982 PDF 166 KB
To submit the
report of the Cabinet Member for Environment.
Additional documents:
Decision:
·
To adopt, county-wide,
the provisions of Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act 1982, as amended by the Crime and Policing Act 2009, to become operational
no earlier than 1 December 2021.
·
To
instruct the Head of Legal Services to publish the statutory notices associated
with the decision to adopt for two consecutive weeks, with the first no later
than 28 days before the date when the decision to adopt comes into force.
·
To
delegate the matters of determining fees, setting standard conditions and a
plan for processing applications to the General Licensing Committee.
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for the Environment submitted a
report asking the Council to adopt powers to regulate sex establishments and
associated requirements.
The Assistant Head of the Environment Department
elaborated on the background information.
The Monitoring Officer noted
that the third recommendation in the report needed to be rectified, which
referred to delegating the matters of determining fees, setting standard
conditions and a plan for processing applications to the 'Central Licensing Committee', to read 'General Licensing Committee'.
Members were given an
opportunity to make observations and ask questions. Individual members submitted the following
observations:
·
The report was welcomed and
gratitude was expressed to the Department that had been working urgently on
this policy matter.
·
It was emphasised that it was important to get the
right to regulate this field and although low level establishments were in
question, and they were very scarce in the county, if at all, it had to be
ensured that sex shops continued to be modern places, that were friendly to
women and couples, and not only for men, as they had been in the past.
·
Although it was not anticipated that the Council would
receive an application to license an adults' cinema in the current on-line
digital age, it was noted that the ability to manage the type of products that
could be exhibited in such an establishment was all important.
·
Although it was not
anticipated that sex entertainment premises would come to Gwynedd, it was noted
that it was essential that we had powers in place to be able to protect the
well-being and safety of women working in such establishments, as they were
among the most vulnerable in society, and often very young.
·
Although the current discussion had been instigated by
an application to open a sex shop, it was noted that it was important to
remember that the same relevant act here included sex entertainment premises.
As a result, it was a requirement to consider the far-reaching implications of
the discussion in case we had to face such applications in future.
·
It was noted that sex establishments reinforced
damaging cultural attitudes towards women, and normalised women being seen as
sex objects, and that the link between seeing women as sex objects,
dehumanising them and violence against women had been recognised. There was
also a great deal of concern about the way women working for these businesses
were treated and exploited. Reference
was made to research that showed that women felt more forlorn and vulnerable in
public spaces when sexual images of women were displayed there, along with
other research work that showed that the cases of sexual harassment and
violence against women increased in the vicinity of these businesses.
· Should the Council prohibit these businesses, it was suggested that this would send a clear message to the people of Gwynedd, which could reduce the damaging attitudes of men towards women, and this policy would be consistent with the Council's efforts to promote equality and consistent with the message ... view the full minutes text for item 10