Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Watford

Contact: Jodie Kloss/Alan Garside  Email: legalanddemocratic@watford.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

10.

Apologies for absence/ committee membership

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor’s Hoffman and Saffery.

 

11.

Disclosure of interests (if any)

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest.

 

 

12.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 November 2017 to be submitted and signed.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on the 20 November 2017 were submitted and signed.

 

13.

Licensing fees and charges 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 91 KB

A report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services seeking the Licensing Committee’s approval to charge fees for the 2018/2019 financial year for some of the different licensing regimes administered by the Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee received a report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services regarding fees and charges.

 

The Environmental Health Manager (Business) introduced the report and highlighted a number of elements.  He explained that the council was responsible for administering a number of statutory and discretionary licensing regimes - and that whilst the associated licensing fees were set by the Licensing Committee, rather than by Council, they were being considered at this meeting of the Licensing Committee to coincide with the budget setting of the council and if agreed would be reported to Council in the overall budget papers.

 

He advised that, when not prescribed by statute, the licensing fees were set on a cost-recovery basis and he outlined the related restrictions.  Where fees had been calculated on a cost recovery basis, the proposed fees had been raised by a maximum of 2.5% to reflect the increased cost of delivering the services.  However, the fees for taxi and private hire driver and vehicle licenses, and private hire operators licenses were not being increased as the introduction of operational efficiencies had allowed any increased costs to be offset.

 

The Environmental Health Manager (Business) went on to explain why a charge was being proposed when taxi and private hire drivers advised of a change of address (the present arrangements not providing for cost recovery) and why it was recommended to charge a full fee for an application for a six month commercial street trading consent (the cost of processing the licence and administering the regime being the same as an application for an annual licence where a full fee was charged). 

 

He explained why the committee was being asked to approve that officers (in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee) could immediately change the charges that arose in respect of the cost to the council of materials/external fees for compulsory door signage for hackney carriages, Disclosure and Baring Service and practical driver assessments, and licence badges and plates (this providing flexibility in respect of a number of aspects).

 

In response to a question from Councillor Ahsan Khan, the Environmental Health Manager (Business) clarified that consideration as to the need for door signage for Hackney Carriages formed part of a vehicle conditions stand-alone project being managed by the Business Compliance Officer; and a report would be presented to the committee in due course.

 

The Chair moved the officer recommendations. 

 

In accordance with the Standing Committee Procedure Rule 4.5, Councillor Ahsan Khan requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he abstained from the vote in relation to officer recommendation number one.

 

RESOLVED that –

 

1.       the fees and charges set out at appendix 1 for the financial year 2018/2019

       be approved.

 

2.       to delegate to the Environmental Health and Licensing Section Head, in

 consultation with the Chair of Licensing, the authority to increase or decrease

       charges in respect of provision of:

·        Compulsory door signage for hackney carriages.

·        Disclosure and Barring Service, and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, checks.

·        Licence badges  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

 

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