LICENSING COMMITTEE
Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 7th May 2014 at Worksop Town Hall
Present:Councillor J Potts (Chair)
Councillors A Battey, B A Bowles, F Hart, S Isard,G Jones, D Potts and K Sutton.
Officers in attendance: J Hamilton,A Webster andS Wormald.
(Meeting commenced at 6.30pm.)
(The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting and read out the Fire Alarm/Evacuation Procedure,and also enquired as to whether any member of the public wished to film/record the meeting or any part thereof; no members of the public were present.)
53.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors H M Brand and I J Campbell.
54.DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
(a)Members
There were no declarations of interest by Members.
(b)Officers
There were no declarations of interest by officers.
55.MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 12TH MARCH 2014
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 12th March 2014 be approved.
56.MINUTES FOR ACTION
RESOLVED that the Minutes for Action be received.
57.OUTSTANDING MINUTES LIST
With regard to Minutes Nos. 6(b) and 39 – Licensed Hackney Carriages, Private Hire Operators and Vehicles - the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) advised Members that a report would be presented to the next meeting of the Licensing Committee regarding the viability of including a practical driving test in the application process.
RESOLVEDthat the Outstanding Minutes List be received.
SECTION A – ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION IN PUBLIC
Key Decisions
None.
Other Decisions
58.REPORT(S) OF THE PRINCIPAL SOLICITOR (LICENSING AND REGULATORY)
(a)Fees and Charges for Licences 2014/15
Members’ approval was sought for the proposed increase to the present level of fees and charges for Private Hire Vehicles and Operators and Hackney Carriage Vehicles Licences for the financial year 2014/15. These fees and charges were approved in the context of the Council’s Corporate Charging Policy by Cabinet on 3rd December 2013.
There is a legal requirement to publicly advertise any proposed increases in such fees and this was duly done. A copy of the advertisement was appended to the report, together with a copy of the previous committee report and a list of the approved fees and charges for 2014/15.
Two objections had been received as a result of the advertisement and these were summarised in the report. Members commented on these objections and raised issues on:
- The introduction of a practical driving test within the application process – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that this is only a proposal at this stage and a report would be presented to the next meeting of Licensing Committee for Members to consider.
- The compulsion for operators within Bassetlaw to have their vehicles tested by the Council, as opposed to independent MOT testers – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that the Council’s tester is more stringent than an external MOT tester and, as the Licensing Authority, the Council must satisfy itself that the vehicles pass all the necessary tests to carry passengers.
- The lack of an enforcement presence between the hours of 1.30am and 4.00am – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that enforcement is carried out at various times of the day and night, but that any offences can be captured by CCTV and therefore an enforcement presence is not always necessary to apprehend perpetrators.
- The investigation and moderation of the six-monthly test fee – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that this had been brought back to a previous meeting of Licensing Committee and Members had re-approved the fee.
The Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) added that responses will be made to the two objections.
RESOLVED that the fees and charges for Private Hire Vehicles and Operators and Hackney Carriage Vehicles Licences for the financial year 2014/15 be approved, as previously approved by Cabinet on 3rd December 2013.
(b)Working Hours of Licensed Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicles Drivers
Members were informed of the outcome of the consultation undertaken with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors and owners with regard to the working hours of licensed hackney carriage and private hire vehicle drivers.
A letter and questionnaire was sent to all 50 registered hackney carriage and private hire proprietors and owners, and this was appended to the report, together with a copy of the previous committee report.
To date, only six responses have been received, and these were also appended to the report. The Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) and the Licensing Assistant felt that the responses do not raise any concerns with regard to the stated working hours. Members commented on these responses and raised concerns:
- The extremely low return rate – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that there is no compulsion for such information to be provided to the Licensing Authority.
- If a driver has an accident due to being tired from working long hours, then the onus would fall upon the District Council who granted the licence – the Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) explained that, as the Licensing Authority, the Council has a duty to ensure that a driver is a fit and proper person but is not the enforcing authority for his/her working hours as this fails within the jurisdiction of the EC Working Time Directive. The Licensing Assistant added that the final question had been worded carefully to extract information about persons driving as a second job.
- The lack of legislation regarding the driving hours of hackney carriage and private hire drivers and the potential for putting lives at risk.
RESOLVED that:
- Thanks be recorded to the Licensing Assistant for the work involved in carrying out the survey.
- The Principal Solicitor (Licensing and Regulatory) raises Members’ concerns regarding the lack of legislation in respect of the driving hours of hackney carriage and private hire drivers at the next meeting of the Nottinghamshire Licensing Authorities’ Group with a request that it lobbies the Government on this issue.
(c)Charitable Collections
Members were provided with background information as to the definition of “charitable or other” organisations, what discretion the Licensing Committee has in this regard, and whether or not the legislation allows the Licensing Authority to charge for Street Collection Permit applications.
Bassetlaw District Council has adopted the model regulations issued by central Government and these Regulations were appended to the report. The definition of a “charity” was set out in the report, as was its purpose so it can be classed as “charitable”. The wider meaning of “charitable purposes” was also set out in the report.
Both the Street Collection Permit and the House to House Licence are classed as “charitable” and therefore no fee is payable to the Council for this service. Current legislation does not contain any specific power to charge a fee for such a Permit or Licence to be issued.
Members debated whether a recent street collection by a secondary school was “charitable” and the Licensing Assistant explained the rationale behind the decision to allow the Street Collection Permit.
RESOLVED that the report be received and the position be noted.
(d)National Exemption Order Scheme: House to House Collections
Members were provided with information on House to House Exemptions and a full list of organisations which currently hold such exemptions was appended to the report. It was noted that there are currently 44 national Exemption Order holders, as at 9th January 2014, and that such an Order has the same effect as a Licence for the area to which it relates.
As such, these particular charities do not have to apply to the local authority for the grant of a Licence but, out of courtesy, information should be provided of when and where they intend to collect in order to try and avoid clashes between the numerous other exempt charities and local charitable organisations who may wish to update their stock on a regular basis for their shops in Worksop and Retford. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and therefore allocating slots tosmaller, local charities can lead to duplication of dates.
An elected Member enquired as to what is WIZOuk; the Licensing Assistant did not know but would find out and inform Members.
RESOLVED that:
- The report be received and the position be noted.
- The list of Exemption Order holders be posted on the Council’s website via a link to the publication of forthcoming collections which is updated on a regular basis.
SECTION B – ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION IN PRIVATE
Key Decisions
None.
Other Decisions
None.
59.ANY OTHER BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS TO BE URGENT
The Chairman advised Members that this was the last meeting for Councillor Frank Hart who was retiring from the Council in May. She thanked him for his many years of service and wished him all the best for his retirement. This was supported by all Members present who said he would be missed.
As there was no other urgent business to be discussed, the Chairman closed the meeting.
(Meeting closed at 7.20pm.)