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Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Eastbourne

Contact: Simon Russell on 01323 415021  Email:  simon.russell@eastbourne.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2014. pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2014 was submitted and approved and the Chairman was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

2.

Apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were reported from Councillors Coles, Jenkins and Stanley.

3.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) by members as required under Section 31 of the Localism Act and of other interests as required by the Code of Conduct (please see note at end of agenda).

Minutes:

None were declared.

4.

Historic Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Fee-Setting. pdf icon PDF 57 KB

Report of Senior Specialist Advisor.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Senior Specialist Advisor regarding the historic private hire and hackney carriage fee-setting that was referred back to the Committee by Scrutiny Committee.

The Council’s hackney carriage and private hire licensing function were self-financing. The fees were levied and reviewed in consultation with Financial Management to ensure that the account had neither a surplus nor deficit on an ongoing basis.

At its meeting on 13th January 2014, the General Licensing Committee decided to consult on proposals to amend the hackney carriage and private hire licensing fees charged from April 2014. This was designed to introduce consistency between the two arms of the trade by setting new few levels for the first time since 2001. It was also suggested that the historic difference between the hackney carriage proprietor fee and private hire licence fees be referred to Scrutiny Committee for consideration. Minutes of the meeting were included at Appendix 1.

At its meeting on 17th March 2014, the General Licensing Committee agreed the fee amendment proposed at the meeting on 13th January 2014. Minutes of the meeting were included at Appendix 2.

At its meeting on 2nd June 2014, the Scrutiny Committee considered the historic difference between the hackney carriage proprietor fee and private hire licence fees and referred their comments back to General Licensing Committee for consideration and final resolution to the matter. Minutes of the meeting were included at Appendix 3.

Between the financial years of 2001-2014, each hackney carriage proprietor paid £187 per year compared to £95 per year paid for each private hire vehicle licence. The £92 difference was held in reserve each year to reflect the requirement to fund patent unmet demand surveys, in accordance with section 16 of the Transport Act 1985 and subsequent case law. This supported a policy to impose a numerical limit on the number of hackney carriage proprietors within the Borough.

At its meeting on 21st April 2009, the General Licensing Committee lifted the limit on the number of taxis within the Borough. Minutes of the meeting were included at Appendix 4. The decision rendered differential fees unnecessary from that point onwards although it could be argued they ceased to be necessary when the cost of carrying out the last patent unmet demand survey in 2006 was met.

The situation was rectified following the decision of the General Licensing Committee to align the hackney carriage proprietor fee and private hire vehicle licence fees, which came into effect on 1st April 2014. The new fee arrangements ensured that the requirement to set the fees at a level to ensure the budget does not fall into deficit and remain self-financing was met going forward, in addition to removing the differential between the two arms of the trade by setting a flat £150 fee.

A breakdown of the hackney carriage and private hire licensing budget since 2005 was set out in appendix 5.

While insufficient financial data existed to reach a definitive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Street Trading Consent Income Associated with the Street Market. pdf icon PDF 38 KB

Report of Senior Specialist Advisor.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Senior Specialist Advisor regarding the setting of fees for the Street Market.

At its meeting on 23rd April 2012, the General Licensing Committee agreed that the fee levied for consent at the street market would be £5 per pitch and this would be “used for managing the enforcement of the market”. This fee had been collected by Eastbourne Street Market Company and subsequently the Chamber of Commerce and duly paid to Eastbourne Borough Council.

The Street Market Company (ESMC) who collected the consent fees ceased trading at the end of 2013. The Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce opted to continue running the street market via ad hoc applications to the Licensing Authority at Eastbourne Borough Council.

The street market had been running smoothly for two years now and a review of the current fee had been undertaken. It was determined that the current £5 per pitch fee had been set too high and had created a surplus which exceeded the cost to the Council of the administration and enforcement of the street market.

Eastbourne and District Enterprise Agency Limited (EDEAL) had been given a five year contract that would allow them to act on behalf of Eastbourne Borough Council, carrying out Town Centre Management services. This included allocating and distributing the relevant consents to and collecting the relevant consent fees from market stall holders for onward transmission to Eastbourne Borough Council.

Once Eastbourne Borough Council’s funding ceased as intended, EDEAL would support the role through its economic efficiencies by 31st March 2015. The services agreement would end on 31st March 2018 at which point a separate arrangement regarding consents would have to be put in place.

It was considered appropriate that the determination of the fee associated with street market pitches be delegated to a designated Council Officer, who would exercise the delegation in consultation with the chair of General Licensing Committee. This would ensure that the fee could be set at a level which if necessary could be adjusted to ensure that a surplus was not created.

Initially it was proposed that a nominal fee of £1 be levied per pitch to cover associated administrative costs. Experience had indicated that this was a sufficient amount to cover costs and stimulate further interest by potential stall holders.

RESOLVED: (with 1 abstention) That the Committee delegate the setting of consent fees, in relation to the Street Market, to the Senior Head of Development in consultation with the Chairman of General Licensing Committee.

6.

Member Training.

Minutes:

The Committee was advised that Member Training had been scheduled to take place on the 8 October 2014.

 

NOTED.