Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Watford

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

Items
No. Item

5.

Apologies for absence/ committee membership

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Crout, Saffery and Scudder.

6.

Disclosure of interests (if any)

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest.

7.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2017 to be submitted and signed.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on the 26 June 2017 were submitted and signed.

8.

Disability Access Project final report and further recommendations pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services.

 

The Committee is asked to note the outcome of each of the 29 project aims, to formally close the Disability Access Project and to approve the further recommendations for improvements given at the end of the report in section 9.0 and consider whether these projects be incorporated into the Accessible Transport Project.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee received a report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services asking councillors to note the outcome of each of the 29 project aims and to formally close the Disability Access Project. 

 

The Business Compliance Officer highlighted elements of the report.  He advised that the vast majority of the 29 recommendations had been completed.  It was proposed that the Disability Access Project should be closed and the outstanding matters transferred to the new Accessible Transport Project.  It had not been possible to carry out some of the actions and the details were included in the update.  He explained about discussions with the hospital; the hospital was concerned about vehicles waiting too long around the hospital site.

 

In response to a question about compensating or subsidising drivers for their training and other requirements put forward by the council, the Environmental Health and Licensing Section Head explained that delivering the licensing function was cost neutral.  The council was not allowed to make any profit from income derived from hackney carriage licensing fees.  Councillors would have to decide through the budget process if they wished to fund the councillor’s suggestion from council tax income.

 

Following a question about reviewing the new project, the Business Compliance Officer commented that councillors would need to propose when they wished to receive an update on progress.  He suggested the most reasonable time would be in 2019, in line with the timescales for the outstanding matters in the Disability Access Report. 

 

The Environmental Health and Licensing Section Head stressed that officers were not asking the committee to agree to any extensions to the deadlines.  She advised that officers would begin to gather required information and put forward the best options for Watford.  Consultations would be carried out as required.

 

The chair moved the officer’s recommendations.

 

RESOLVED –

 

1.      that the outcome of each of the 29 project aims be noted.

 

2.      that the Disability Access Project be formally closed.

 

3.      that the further recommendations shown below be incorporated into the Accessible Transport Project –

 

·             that a separate vehicle licence condition project is commenced and it considers the issue of door signs as part of the wider considerations.

·             that the licensing team explores the possibility, financially and legally, for the continued testing of drivers to be undertaken by a small group of passengers trained to a professional standard.  This group to gather the necessary evidence to allow the authority to take meaningful enforcement action against drivers and operators who fail to ensure they offer services equally to all.

·             that the guidelines on the issuing of licences be reviewed to determine if there is scope to include consideration of non-criminal discrimination in determining a driver’s and/or operator’s fitness and propriety.

·             that the above points form the main aims of a new Accessible Transport Project. 

9.

Private Hire operator conditions pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services.

 

The Committee is asked to consider the new conditions and approve them for inclusion in the general Private Hire Operator Conditions.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee received a report of the Head of Community and Environmental Services asking members to consider new conditions for inclusion in the general Private Hire Operator conditions.

 

The Business Compliance Officer informed the committee that the suggestion to add to the Private Hire Operators Conditions had arisen from the Disability Access Project.  He noted that operators usually had a basic disclosure check, drivers were required to have an enhanced check and currently the controllers were not required to have any check carried out.  Following various incidents and investigations it had become apparent that checks ought to be carried out on all staff, including the controllers.  Dame Louise Casey’s report attached as Appendix 4 to the report provided examples of incidents that her investigation had been informed about. 

 

The Business Compliance Officer highlighted the proposed new conditions that officers had suggested should be added to the Private Hire Operator conditions.  However, following the publication of the agenda, officers had reconsidered the wording for conditions 17 and 19.  It was proposed that they should be reworded as follows –

 

“17.     The Licensee to provide proof of their attendance at a recognised course or courses on current and emerging safe-guarding risks to include at least: Recognising and reporting the signs of Child Sexual Exploitation, Modern Slavery and Extremism.

 

19.      The Licensee will ensure that all staff acting and/or employed as controllers or who have contact in any way on a regular basis with members of the public have attended a recognised course or courses on current and emerging safe-guarding risks to include at least: Recognising and reporting the signs of Child Sexual Exploitation, Modern Slavery and Extremism.”

 

The Business Compliance Officer stated that training courses could cover all three areas rather than individual courses for each subject.  Condition 23 had been suggested to ensure that those customers who had to use larger vehicles were not charged disproportionately.  Operators needed to make reasonable adjustments.  Officers had sought detailed legal advice on the issue of charging more for larger vehicles. 

 

Some members were concerned about the wording of proposed condition 23.  They felt the wording was too ’loose’ and would be difficult to enforce.  They questioned how many would be required for very small companies.  It was suggested that it may be more appropriate to specify a certain proportion of the company’s fleet should be capable of carrying wheelchair users. 

 

The Business Compliance Officer responded that each case would be considered separately on its own merits.  The aim was to prevent the operator charging the wheelchair user based on the size of the vehicle.  He suggested that if the committee was not happy with the suggested wording, they could defer that particular condition and try to find alternative wording. 

 

Councillors said that they were happy with the principle of the condition but were concerned about its strength if enforcement was required.  It was suggested that further information should be included in the guidance provided to operators.  However it was felt the condition should be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

 

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