Agenda item

To agree to establish a Licensing Working Group to review the Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Policy and to approve the proposed Terms of Reference.

13.1          The report of the Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No. 21-64, asked Members to agree to establish a Working Group to review the Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Policy, and to name five Members to serve on the Working Group; and to approve the Terms of Reference for the Working Group, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

13.2           The Environmental Health Manager explained that, at the Licensing Committee meeting on 14 June 2018, Members were advised that Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils had raised concerns about the disparities between Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Driver Policy and their own policies.   This was causing problems as a large number of the taxis licensed in Tewkesbury Borough operated predominantly in Cheltenham and Gloucester.  Since that time, two meetings had been held with officers from Gloucester City and Cheltenham Borough Councils to go through the policies and identify the discrepancies which included: age of vehicles, age of driver, length of time the driver had held a UK/EU driving licence, requirement to take a knowledge test, driving assessment requirements and MOT requirements.  He indicated that there was an error in the report at Page No. 22, Paragraph 2.2 which stated that the Working Group would comprise three Members and clarified that this should be five Members - the Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment would also be invited to attend the Working Group meetings.

13.3          During the debate which ensued, a Member questioned why Tewkesbury Borough Council’s policy was the one which needed to be aligned with the other authorities’ policies rather than the other way around.  In response, the Environmental Health Manager explained that the Working Group would have an opportunity to look at the differences between the policies and consider the reasons for making changes, for example, there were issues with licensing older vehicles in terms of safety and emissions etc; assurance was provided that it was not intended to make changes for the sake of it.  As part of the review, it was proposed to consult with the licensed trade to see how they might be impacted by potential changes, for instance, Gloucestershire County Council used several private hire vehicles for school transport.

13.4           A Member indicated that there was a perception that it was easier to obtain a licence from Tewkesbury Borough Council than some of the other authorities in the county so she welcomed the opportunity to review the policy.  Another Member understood that Cheltenham Borough Council had recently approved plans to require all taxis to be wheelchair accessible which had caused a lot of unrest among licensed drivers; the Legal Adviser confirmed that this was being phased in over a period of time.  The Environmental Health Manager advised that there were several retro-fitted vehicles operating in Tewkesbury Borough and there was a need to have a broader discussion about what this would mean for those vehicles.  A Member pointed out that Tewkesbury Borough Council licensed a lot of disabled access vehicles which were used primarily for school contracts and were not available for the public to hire and she questioned whether it would be possible to look at the terms of operation for those vehicles to encourage wider use.  She also drew attention to Page No. 49 of the report, Section 2 of the existing policy, which related to novelty vehicles, and raised concern that it was unclear which vehicles needed to be licensed; she felt it was important to give this some consideration in light of the recent accident in New York involving a stretch limousine which had resulted in the death of 20 people.  The Chair indicated that there were a number of points which could be picked up by the Working Group so he felt the review would be worthwhile.  In response to a query regarding timescales, the Head of Community Services clarified that it was intended to bring a revised policy back to the Licensing Committee meeting on 14 February 2019 and he was of the view that the Working Group would need to meet on three occasions prior to that.

13.5           It was subsequently

RESOLVED          1.   That a Licensing Working Group be established to review the Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Policy comprising the following membership:

  Councillors G F Blackwell, R Furolo, R E Garnham,                       A Hollaway and M J Williams.  The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment would also be invited to attend the meetings.

2.   That the Terms of Reference for the Working Group be  APPROVED as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.