To be submitted to the Council at its meeting on20thJuly 2017
LICENSINGAND COMMUNITY PROTECTION COMMITTEE
14th June 2017
PRESENT:Councillor Rogers (in the Chair)
Councillors Barfield, Beasant, Bramley, Brookes, Burton, Cairns, Fenty, Goodwin, Harness, Lindley, and Shepherd.
Officers in attendance:
Natalie HouldenScrutiny and Committee Support Officer
Adrian Moody Licensing Manager
Tracey PriceSenior Licensing Enforcement Officer
Eve Richardson-Smith Solicitor
Paul Windley Democratic and Scrutiny Team Manager
L.1APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
It was noted that at the Annual General Meeting of the Council held on 25th May, 2017 Councillor Rogershad been appointed the Chair and Councillor Mickleburgh the Deputy Chair of Licensing and Community Protection Committee for the ensuing Municipal Year.
L.2APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence for this meeting were received from Councillors Brown, Mickleburgh and Walker.
L.3DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Bramley declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item L.5as her brother is a Hackney Carriage vehicle driver.
L.4MINUTES
The Committee received the minutes of the Licensing and Community Protection Committee meeting held on 8th March, 2017.
Having declared her personal and prejudicial interest, Councillor Bramley left the room for consideration of the following item.
L.5 REQUEST TO RAISE HACKNEY CARRIAGE TARIFF (TABLE OF FARES)
The Committee considered a report from the Director of Finance, Operations and Resources setting out a proposed increase to North East Lincolnshire Council’s Hackney Carriage Motorised Vehicles Table of Fares (Tariff).
Mr Moody summarised the background of the report and outlined the recommendations for consideration by the Committee. He highlighted section 1.2 of the report which provided details of the tariff and confirmed that no increase to the tariff had been considered or agreed since August 2011.
The Committee debated the proposals and Members expressed their own views on this matter. Mr Broadbent,representative of the Hackney Carriage drivers requesting the rise,was invited to answer questions.
Members queried whether any dialogue had been exchanged with the Hackney Carriage Association (HCA) regarding the proposals. Mr Moody confirmed that whilst the HCA had been notified, no representations had been received. Councillor Shepherd expressed concerns regarding the existence of the HCA as a representative body, due to their lack of involvement.
Councillor Cairns sought clarification regarding the correct complaints procedure for overcharging. It was confirmed thatcomplaints should be made to the taxi operator or driverin the first instance, before approaching the Local Authority.
Members went on to discuss suggested proposed signage of taxi ranksand it was agreed for Mr Broadbent to submit a written proposal for consideration by the Highways department.
Members requested an update regarding the seminar on CCTV within licensed vehicles, especially as it was felt that CCTV was valuable in safeguarding drivers and passengers. Mr Moody advised that whilst there was no requirement for CCTV to be installed in Hackney Carriage vehicles, should drivers wish to have a system fitted, this would be at their discretion. Advice could be provided regarding specification, however purchase and installation of the equipment would be at the driver’s expense.
Mr Broadbent reacted to this by advising that it was not feasible to consider the installation of CCTV due to the associated costs of purchasing the equipment and the annual licence charge. This would further impact on the trade and ability to maintain vehicle standards.
Councillor Burton suggested that a report be presented to the next Licensing and Community Protection meeting, setting out a case for CCTV to be made a mandatory condition.
Councillor Brookes moved that it be recommended that theproposed increase to the Hackney Carriage Tariff match the fare structure of the bordering authority of East Lindsey as an alternative option to the recommendation set out in the report, because the area was similar in nature. Mr Moody clarified that this was not the request made by the trade and that the other Tariffs were provided for benchmarking purposes. This was seconded by Councillor Fenty. Upon a vote this was agreed unanimously.
RESOLVED –
(1)That the Hackney Carriage Tariff be increased in accordance with East Lindsey District Council as set out in Appendix 3 of the report now submitted, subject to a notice period for any objections to be considered
(2)That a report be presented to the next Licensing and Community Protection Committee meeting for consideration of a proposed policy in relation to CCTV in Hackney Carriage Licensed Vehicles.
L.6MEMBERSHIP OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE SUB COMMITTEE
The Committee considered the appointment of sevenMembers of the Licensing and Community Protection Committee to the Hackney Carriage Sub Committee. It was noted that in order to comply with proportionality rules the requirement was for three Labour nominations, two Conservative nominations,oneUKIP nomination and one Liberal Democrat nomination.
Mr Windley provided advice about appointments, specifically the expectation that Members are required to have completed the relevant training before being able to sit on the Sub-Committee.
RESOLVED - That Councillors Burton, Goodwin, Rogers, Harness, Shepherd, Barfield and Cairns be appointed Members of the Hackney Carriage Sub-Committee.
There being no other business, the Chair closed the meeting at1.55p.m.