Agenda item

Report of the Director of Service Delivery.

Joanna Dunk, Lead for Regulatory Services (LRS), presented the report and Members of the Committee considered the responses received from the consultation and the proposals for changes to the Lewes District Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Guidance (as per recommendations 1 and 2 of the Report).

In making its decisions, the Committee considered the contents of the report and the appendices, including the feedback from the consultation, and responses from Officers during the meeting. Officers clarified the differences between hackney and private hire, the legal framework that Local Authorities must operate within, the benefits of the knowledge test, the national guidance, and decision-making process. In relation to audio recording, Officers provided information on the role of the data controller, cost implications, different local authority requirements, national and officer guidance and the extent to which audio should be permitted.

The Committee considered each proposal for change in turn, as outlined in Section 4 of the report:

Proposal:  To introduce a Private Hire-only licence for new applicants.

The proposal was put to a vote and rejected (For: 0; Against: 6; Abstain: 1)

Resolved  - To not implement the proposal.

Proposal: To revise the penalty points scheme.

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: To introduce a Customer and Driver Charter (Report Appendix 8).

Resolved (unanimously) - To agree the introduction of the Charter, as drafted in Appendix 8 of the report, with the caveat that certain amendments be made to the ‘Drivers Rights’ Section, the amendments to be drafted by officers and agreed with Chair prior to publication.

Proposal: That audio recording should be permitted and, if permitted, to recommend the extent of the permission.

Resolved (unanimously) - To permit audio recording, but limited to:  

§  Vehicles driven during home to school journeys; and

§  With the use of a trigger switch to turn audio on (for use by driver and/or passenger).

Proposal: All licensed vehicles to carry a spare wheel or an appropriate alternative in the boot of the vehicle and the necessary tools to fit the spare wheel.

Resolved (unanimously)- To accept the proposal.

Proposal: That the Council will not license any vehicle that has been classed as written-off in any category.

Resolved (For: 6; Against: 0; Abstain: 1) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: Drivers shall sign up to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: A grant of a licence will be subject to a tax code check being made with the HMRC. This is to ensure all drivers are registered correctly for tax purposes.

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: In relation to the English Language Proficiency Test, that any person found cheating on the test will be disqualified and will not be granted a licence for at least three years.

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: To introduce a Privacy Notice. 

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

Proposal: That drivers undertake GDPR training.

The proposal was put to a vote and rejected (For: 0; Against: 6; Abstain: 1)

Resolved – That the proposal be rejected.

Proposal: That drivers / licence holders undertake Safeguarding Awareness training every three years.

Resolved (unanimously) - To accept the proposal.

The Committee then proposed three additional changes to the Guidance:

1. Inclusion of a link to useful safeguarding training resources;
2. Inclusion of link to suicide awareness training resources; and
3. That Officers investigate the availability of relevant guidance regarding use of fire extinguishers in taxis, and that if a change to the Guidance was needed as a result, this be considered a ‘minor change’, and made by the Senior Specialist Advisor in agreement with the Chair.

Resolved (unanimously):To agree the three additional changes as above.

In the course of discussions, Officers confirmed that a study was underway regarding air quality issues and a report would come to the Committee in 2024. Officers explained that a full consultation had preceded the Council’s adoption of white taxis (originally agreed by Licensing Committee on 14 February 2019), which was an approach taken by many local authorities to help the public distinguish between hackney and private hire taxis and confirmed that the topic had prompted only a very small minority of comments in the recent consultation. 

The Committee then considered recommendations 3 and 4 from the Report:

RESOLVED (unanimously):

1. To delegate the Senior Specialist Advisor to take the necessary steps to implement any changes (including those approved above), to produce the final Guidance and publish it on a date to be agreed with the Chair of the Licensing Committee; and
2. That the Guidance should be reviewed every three years.