Agenda and minutes

The Chairman opened the meeting and invited nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the Municipal Year.

Councillor Judith Welbourn proposed Councillor Stephen Woodliffe and Councillor Tom Ashton seconded.

Councillor Stephen Woodliffe proposed Councillor Judith Welbourn.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Stephen Woodliffe be elected as Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the 2021/2022 Municipal year.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Yvonne Stevens (Vice-Chairman), Alison Austin, Anton Dani and Judith Skinner.

To sign and confirm the minutes of the last meeting.

The Minutes of the last meeting held, 9 November 2021, were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

None

To answer any written questions received from members of the public no later than 5 p.m. two clear working days prior to the meeting – for this meeting the deadline is 5 p.m. on ………………..

None

(A report presented by Shaun Sharp, Land Charges and Licensing Officer)

The Senior Licensing Officer presented a report which sought approval of recommendations in relation to the Department for Transport (DfT) Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards.

Members noted that the CCTV Consultation results (Appendix 1), Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Policy (Appendix 2), the Draft - A Guide for Hackney Carriage Drivers and Proprietors (Appendix 3) and the Draft – A Guide for Private Hire Drivers, Proprietors and Operators (Appendix 4) were attached withing the report.

RESOLVED:

1.          That the current procedure of voluntary fitting of CCTV in licensed vehicles with no council imposed controls continue, with a view to further extensive research being undertaken prior to any policy change;

2.          That the compulsory displaying of complaints information in licensed vehicles be approved;

3.          That the National register if Taxi Licence Revocations and Refusals (NR3) be brought back to a future Licensing Committee when further information/advice on Data Protection was available;

4.          That the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Policy be amended as outlined in the report; and

5.          That the amendments identified in red within both the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers and Proprietors Policies be noted, and that a four week public consultation be carried out, the results of which would be reported back to the next Licensing Committee for further discussion and agreement.