Agenda and minutes

Lewes District Council Licensing Committee - Thursday, 7th July, 2022 10.30 am

Venue: Ditchling and Telscombe Rooms, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB.

Contact: Committee Services on 01273 471600. 

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 113 KB

To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 January 2022 (attached herewith).

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2022 were submitted and approved, and the Chair was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

2.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Graham Amy, Liz Boorman, Sean MacLeod (Chair) and Emily O’Brien.

3.

Declarations of interest

Disclosure by councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the councillor regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Urgent items

Items not on the agenda which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances as defined in Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minutes:

There were none.

5.

Written questions from councillors

To deal with written questions from councillors pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12.3 (page D8 of the Constitution).

Minutes:

There were none.

6.

Approval of additional Licensing Fee 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Report of Director of Service Delivery

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report which sought its recommendation to Full Council that the additional licensing fee proposed within paragraph 1 be applied from September 2022.

 

The Regulatory Services Lead (RSL) presented the report, highlighting that all new applicants and current licensed drivers would be required to adhere to a 6 monthly DBS check, which could be undertaken through the gov.uk website or, alternatively, could be processed by Lewes District Council. The cost of the service for the Council would require an increase from £40 to £65 to take into account an administration fee, which would apply from September 2022 onward.

 

Discussions included automatic reminders in respect of the 6 monthly DBS check, the amount of time it took the Council to process applications, whether there was any way to make the process more cost-effective and what costs were covered by the proposed increase in the Licensing fee. It was also noted that the Council had absorbed staff costs of this service over the previous two years.

 

The Committee queried the cost of the fee if the process was undertaken through the gov.uk website. The RSL explained that she did not know the exact fee, but that it was less than the £40 currently charged by the Council.

 

Members requested that a follow-up report come back to the Committee with details relating to DBS checks which were processed through the gov.uk website versus those processed by the Council. The RSL agreed to add that detail to future annual fee setting reports.

 

Resolved:

 

That Full Council be recommended to approve the Licensing Fee, as set out in the report, for the 6 monthly DBS check.

 

7.

Supporting the transition to low vehicle or zero emission vehicles in the taxi and private hire sector pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Report of Director of Service Delivery

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report presented by the Regulatory Services Lead (RSL) which asked Members to examine ways of supporting the transition to low or zero emission vehicles in the taxi and private hire vehicle sector.

 

Discussions included stand-alone charging points, details, costs and funding resources in respect of the of the feasibility studies and use of the Council’s internal green consultancy.

 

The Committee commented on Officer errors throughout the guidance, as set out in Appendix 1, and minor changes to the document which Members had not previously been made aware of. The Committee requested that, in future, Members be made aware of any changes to guidance documents.

 

Officers noted that although there were some corrections of a minor nature that needed to be made within the guidance document, the errors within the document did not affect the Committee’s previous decisions. Officers further noted that the corrections would be made shortly and that the Committee would be informed of any amendments to the guidance document going forward.

 

The Chair queried the timescale for implementation of the feasibility study. The RSL noted that, if the recommendations were agreed by the Committee, it was her intention to begin the process as soon as possible.

 

Resolved:

 

1)    That it be agreed that a feasibility study be undertaken and that the Lead for Regulatory Services be authorised to investigate grant funding to cover the costs of the feasibility study; and

2)    That it be agreed that as an immediate incentive, the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Guidance as set out in Appendix 1, be amended so that low and zero emission vehicles may have an extended licence span.

8.

Date of next meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Licensing Committee is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 13 October 2022 in the Ditchling and Telscombe Rooms, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB, commencing at 10:30am.

Minutes:

That it be noted that the next meeting of the Licensing Committee was scheduled to be held on Thursday, 13 October 2022 in the Ditchling and Telscombe Rooms, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB, commencing at 10:30am.