Councillor D. Scudder had sent his apologies that he would be delayed.  

No apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Saffery.

Councillor Dhindsa advised that although he had declared an interest in the past when the Committee had considered Hackney Carriage fares, as the item before the Committee related to a policy he would not be declaring an interest.

To submit for signature the minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2013.

(All minutes are available on the Council’s website).

The minutes of the meeting held on the 22 October 2013 were submitted and signed.

Report of the Head of Community and Customer Services

The Chair had agreed that this report could go ‘to follow’. This was to ensure compliance of the enforcement proposals within the delegation of the constitution

The Committee received a report of the Head of Community and Customer Services providing the Committee with details of proposed changes to the policies following extensive consultation with drivers. The three areas where there were proposals for changes were; the enforcement regime, DSA assessments and vehicle age limits. The report asked the Committee to agree proposals in principle to be taken forward for formal consultation.

The Licensing Manager introduced the report and noted that the government had announced in the last few days the measures to be included in the Deregulation Bill which considered the level of burden councils placed on the taxi trade nationally. The Regulators’ Code needed to be taken into consideration by the Committee.  He suggested that each of the three proposed areas be discussed in turn.

1. Enforcement regime

The Licensing Manager outlined the way that enforcement currently operated. The penalty point scheme did not necessarily fulfil its purpose any longer.  The proposal was to revoke the penalty point scheme and to use the Environmental Services Enforcement Policy instead, which would be amended to include a number of additional provisions such as case reviews.

Councillor Lynch expressed her concern that the changes would have a detrimental effect on residents in Central Ward. She referred to incidents in Westland Road and asked whether the new system would be sufficiently robust. The Licensing Manager advised that the new system would be more effective as it would allow for the suspension of licences which would be a financial penalty. The proposal had been suggested by drivers at the workshops and would be more effective at tackling persistent offenders.

Following a question from Councillor Derbyshire, the Chair confirmed that the Driver Standards Committee who would review licensees when required would comprise two members of the Licensing Committee and a senior officer, and would be set up in the same way as a Licensing Sub-Committee.

Councillor Dhindsa asked for further clarification about the proposal before the Committee. The Licensing Manager explained that licences could be suspended in certain circumstances for major contraventions.  Warnings would be given for minor breaches.  The number of warnings received before a suspension was considered would depend on the offences committed. The Environmental Health and Licensing Section Head added that this was the purpose of moving to a more flexible system. The individual nature of the offences could be considered as well as the history and attitude of the driver at the time of the investigation. The correct approach would then be taken depending on the severity of the offence.

Councillor Dhindsa said he felt it was important to await the results of consultation.  The Licensing Manager advised that a driver consultation workshop was scheduled for 2 April to which all drivers had been invited.

Councillor Dhindsa referred to the workshops which had already taken place and asked how the drivers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Report of the Head of Community and Customer Services

          The Committee received a report of the Head of Community and Customer Services outlining the review of the charity street collection policy.

          The Licensing Manager introduced the report.  He explained that the two types of collections were cash collections and direct debit collections. He informed the Committee that the proposal had been formulated following public consultation.  He outlined the details of the proposals. Following the consultation, Vicarage Road had been added to the policy.

          Councillor I Brown felt that it was important that a balance was struck.  Some felt that direct debit collection was ‘emotional blackmail’ and did not want to be harassed while they were in the town but he understood the importance of the collections for charities.  He commended the report.

Councillor Jeffree agreed and added that it was useful to concentrate the direct debit collectors in one part of the town.  However, he remained concerned about the numbers of collectors permitted under the policy. He noted that between Clarendon Road and King Street there would be six allowed, not necessarily from the same charity.  He suggested that officers renegotiate with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) to see if the number could be brought down to four collectors in that location.

Following a question from Councillor Lynch, the Licensing Manager confirmed that there was no restriction on those who were just speaking to the public or distributing leaflets for charitable, religious or political purposes.         Leaflet distribution by commercial organisations was regulated. Stalls, however, had to be located in specific locations.

The Licensing Manager confirmed, in response to a question from Councillor Connal, that sellers of the Big Issue would not be affected by this policy.

Councillor Meerabux asked whether local charities could be given precedence under the policy.  He added that he did not find charity collectors aggressive.

Councillor Derbyshire outlined his concern about the practice.  He was worried about elderly people who could be intimidated into donating and may be unaware of the implications.  He asked about the numbers of charity collectors currently.  The Licensing Manager advised that the number varied.  The figure of six came from a site meeting with the PFRA. He said officers could go back to the PFRA and see if they would agree to the number being reduced to four.  If this was accepted, the agreement could then be made.

          Councillor Derbyshire referred to the location of the collectors; in his experience the area between Charter Place and Marks and Spencer was the most congested area.  The Licensing Manager explained that the locations set out were, in part, due to the wider pavements further up the High Street.

          The Chair suggested that officers renegotiated with the PFRA to see if they would agree to four collectors. If four was not acceptable, the matter could be brought back to the Committee for further discussion.  She added that Vicarage Road should be included.  She suggested that officers speak to the Football Club following the issues highlighted in the consultation.

          RESOLVED –

1. That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.