Issue - meetings

On 26^th April 2022 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed a draft revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to be consulted on.  An 8-week public consultation ran from 15 July until 9 September 2022, and the Committee are asked to consider the responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved by majority vote (4 voting for, 2 abstaining, and the Chair not voting), to:

(1)          Consider the responses to the public consultation

(2)          Agree the adoption of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set out in Appendix 2

(3)          Agree that minor changes be delegated to the Head of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee and the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Environment.

(4)          Agree that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set in Appendix 2 is recommended for approval at Full Council

The Committee received a report summarised by the following: On 26^th April 2022 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed a draft revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to be consulted on.  An 8-week public consultation ran from 15 July until 9 September 2022, and the Committee are asked to consider the responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council.

The following matters were considered by the Committee:

a)            CCTV: The Principal Licensing Officer explained that the cameras would be specialist equipment and would use encrypted hard drives to store their data. He stated that if CCTV in vehicles became mandated, the Council would be responsible for the ownership and protection of the data. He confirmed there would be no cost to the Council associated with maintaining the data.  

b)           Number of Hackney Carriages in the Borough: The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed the number of Hackney Carriages in the Borough has halved since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

c)            Black Cab requirement: It was noted by the Committee thatthe Council requires license holders to drive London-style Black Cabs. The Committee considered a possible relaxation to the Black Cab requirement. The Principal Licensing Officer stated that the Council has a target number for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, confirming all Black Cabs are wheelchair-accessible, and advised a reduction in the number of Black Cabs could require an equality impact assessment to ensure any change to the policy would not cause anyone to become disadvantaged.

d)           Date for new licenses and renewals to be ULEV: The Committee considered that a date be set for when all new licenses and renewals must be Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV). The Principal Licensing Officer advised that consultation would be required before such a date could be set.

e)            Emissions Report: It was considered by the Committee that a report on Emissions as a matter of high priority be brought to a meeting of the Committee after a period of 6 months, following public consultation and the consideration of the Climate Change Working Group.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved by majority vote (4 voting for, 2 abstaining, and the Chair not voting), to:

(1)          Consider the responses to the public consultation

(2)          Agree the adoption of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set out in Appendix 2 of the report

(3)          Agree that minor changes be delegated to the Head of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee and the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration

(4)          Agree that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set in Appendix 2 of the report is recommended for approval at Full Council