Apologies were received from Councillors Feldman and Stanton.

There was a change of membership for this meeting: Councillor Pattinson replaced Councillor G Saffery.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2022 to be submitted and signed.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 7 July 2022 were submitted and signed.

The committee received the report on the review of the Taxi Licensing Policy from the Senior Licensing Officer which provided details of the results of the consultation on amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, including proposed amendments.

The Senior Licensing Officer provided highlights of the report which included the background to the review and the proposed amendments particularly the requirement to accept card and contactless payments and clarification on the position of drivers’ medicals.  He made the committee aware of the administrative changes in the report which concerned job title changes and slight errors that had no impact on the policy.

In response to a question from Councillor Devonish regarding the contactless payment method, the Senior Licensing Officer explained that the request had come from the trade for it to be mandatory, the officers took this under consideration.  If a driver would not comply with the policy, it would be dealt with under the compliance policy. He explained that the request had been viewed as a measure to support the trade and customer demand.  The pandemic had seen a reduction in the use of cash, and neighbouring authorities had introduced cashless payment, including Transport for London (TfL).  The decision had been made not to remove cash payment as an option, which TfL had done. 

The Environmental Health Manager explained to the committee the current licensing and enforcement regime.  Vehicles were seen every year and checked for compliance with all conditions, such as a taxi meter, smoke-free signage and safety of the vehicle.  If the policy was approved, then the annual check would include the contactless payment method.  The new signage requirement would be included in the Licensing Enforcement Officer spot checks.  There were further questions on the cost of a payment system for drivers and what support licensing would provide.  The Senior Licensing Officer responded that the costs to drivers would vary between card device providers but would be pennies upon each transaction.  In terms of education and take-up with drivers, officers had advised that there would be a lead-in time enabling them to be compliant with the policy by their licence renewal.

Councillors Allen-Williamson and Nembhard commented, as regular taxi users, that the contactless payment method would be welcomed.

RESOLVED –

That the following proposed policy amendments be approved:

·       That a condition requiring drivers to provide means to accept contactless payments be attached to all vehicle licences under section 16.13.3 of the policy (please see paragraph 5.7 of the report)

·       That the policy of requiring drivers to submit regular medicals be amended so that medicals were required upon initial application, every 5 years from the age of 45 until the age of 65, and yearly from the age of 65 under section 15.6 of the policy (please see paragraph 6.9 of the report).

·       That minor amendments to policy were approved to clarify job titles and a correct a reference to another section within the policy (please see paragraph 7.1 of the report)

These policy amendments are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The committee received the report on Licensing Fees & Charges for 2023-2024 from the Senior Licensing Officer.   The recommendation for fees and charges were set out on pages one and two of appendix 1 to be approved by the committee, and the fees and charges on pages three and four were recommended to budget council later in the month for approval.   The proposed fees had been raised by approximately 6% to reflect the increased cost of delivering the services.

Councillor Nembhard asked the officers if there had been objections from drivers and if the proposed changes could lead to customers switching to Uber.  In response, the Senior Licensing Officer responded that feedback from the trade would be sought through consultation after the committee had approved the changes.  Regarding Uber, the licensing department did not licence Uber, and the nearest licensing authority that licensed Uber was TfL.  Any concerns with Uber could be raised with officers, who would then address this with TfL.

The Associate Director of Housing and Wellbeing responded to questions in regard to extending subsidised electric vehicle licences to include hybrid vehicles.  She advised that consideration would need to be given to how this would be funded. It had to operate on a cost-recovery basis and not be funded by other drivers.  Since 2015 a subsidised rate had been offered for wholly electric vehicles.  Through the Climate Change Strategic Partnership, there would be specific work related to taxis.  The Associate Director of Housing and Wellbeing added that this was something officers could explore over the next year and enable them to understand what other neighbouring authorities were doing. 

In response to a question about capping Hackney Carriage fares, the Senior Licensing Officer advised that these fares were set.  However private hire drivers were not restricted and could negotiate fares with customers. 

Councillor Khan enquired about the increased costs particularly during the current cost of living crisis. The Associate Director of Housing and Wellbeing clarified that the fees had remained the same since 2017.  This had been possible due to the improvements in processes that officers had made and the reduced time spent on the process of applications. This year in line with good practice a detailed analysis of time spent had been undertaken and this had led to some increases in fees to reflect actual costs. 

Following the officer’s response Councillor Khan was concerned about the increased cost and felt they should be frozen.  He suggested the economic impact reserve could be used to support those fees and charges.

Councillor Hofman enquired about statutory fees for example fees for bingo, club gaming permits and lotteries as there were no recommended changes.  The Senior Licensing Officer explained that the statutory fee had been set out in the legislation in the Gambling Act, and that the committee would not be able to alter the fee.  Also, the fees could not be raised in one area to subsidise another. 

Councillor Hofman asked if the council could either write to the Government  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.