To consider a report by the Head of Community seeking approval of a draft licensing policy for public consultation.
Contact:C Allison 387075
Minutes:
Further to Minute No. 11/17 and with the assistance of a report by the Licensing Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Committee considered the contents of a draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy for public consultation.
By way of introduction, the Committee were reminded that the service currently operates within a number of separately published policies and procedures and Members had agreed at their last meeting that a dedicated taxi policy statement be formulated and published. This had now been prepared for Member’s consideration and approval for public consultation. Attention was drawn to the legislative elements which must be included within the draft and those which were discretionary initiatives intended to provide positive improvements to standards.
Members were advised that in addition to the introduction of a new policy, as a separate exercise the delegations of authority would also be altered to enable appropriate decisions to be made in a timely manner and the Council’s penalty points system would be discontinued. An explanation of the Council’s penalty points system was provided to Committee Members and it was reported that this had not been widely applied in the past,
Having noted that public consultation and engagement with the trade would be undertaken between October and December 2017, the Licensing Manager made reference to the consultation document (copies of which were circulated to all members in attendance) and the specific questions which would be included with the consultation questionnaire on Survey Monkey. The Head of Community urged all Committee Members to review in detail the draft policy and to respond through the formal consultation process or to Council officers directly.
In reviewing the proposed policy, Members discussed the responsibilities of Private Hire Operators. Comment was made on the perceived need for further controls in this area and a Member suggested that Operators could be invited to appear before the Licensing and Protection Sub-Committee if a number of their drivers had had reason to appear. In recognition that Operators do have a responsibility for the drivers within their employment, Officers undertook to give further consideration to an additional section within the consultation document for this purpose. The Licensing Manager explained that the Licensing Team do record complaints against Operators and have issued verbal and written warnings in the past.
Members also discussed the proposal and need to identify and make explicit the differences between Private Hire (PH) and Hackney Carriage (HC) vehicles. Members agreed that it was important to promote to the general public that insurance for both the driver and passengers is invalid in a Private Hire Vehicle unless it has been pre-booked with the operator. Members also indicated that it would be useful for licensed drivers to undertake first aid training.
Whereupon, it was
RESOLVED
(a) that the draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing policy as attached as an appendix to the report now submitted be approved for public consultation;
(b) that the Head of Community be authorised to make any amendments to the draft policy that are considered necessary as a result of any comments received from the public consultation, or arising from further legislation or guidance received during the drafting period; and
(c) that the revised final draft be put before the Licensing Committee in early 2018 for approval, with a view to implementation with effect from 1st April 2018.
[In view of the timetable for the consultation, it was agreed that the Committee’s next meeting (scheduled for Wednesday 13 December 2017) would be deferred to a meeting at the end of January / early February 2018].
Supporting documents: