Issue - meetings

Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards Consultations Response and Recommendations

Meeting: 20/01/2021 - Regulatory Committee (Item 5)

5 Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards Consultations Response and Recommendations pdf icon PDF 174 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Greg Bickerdike, Service Lead - Licensing, presented a report on the statutory taxi & private hire vehicle standards consultations response and recommendations.

 

The Service Lead reported a number of updates since the agenda had been published and responded to questions asked. The current situation regarding surveillance cameras within licensed vehicles was outlined and that the Mandatory requirement for CCTV was not met. However, Members felt that the installation of CCTV within licensed vehicles should be encouraged.

 

The implementation of the DBS Update Service and its impact on existing drivers was considered by Members at length. They felt that the four options listed at paragraph 4.3 of the report were not appropriate and sought legal advice on the matter. Following further discussions, an alternative option was proposed by the Commercial Regulation Manager as follows:

 

Option E: That new applicants would be required to sign up to the update service on application and existing drivers must sign up to the update service on renewal of their DBS.

 

All Members agreed on Option E, and Councillor Bolshaw moved the recommendations within the report. Councillor Potter seconded the recommendations.

 

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

  1. Debated whether the implementation of the DBS Update Service should be hastened with the approval of additional requirements for existing driver licence holders.
  2. Approved a six-week consultation into a voluntary CCTV scheme in licensed vehicles.
  3. Approved the proposals recommended in the report.
  4. Approved the new Private Hire Vehicle, Driver and Operator licence conditions, effective from 1 April 2021.

Delegated authority to the Service Lead – Licensing, in consultation with the Chair of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee, to write and publish a letter to the Department for Transport, detailing the consideration of the measures contained in Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, and the policies and delivery plans that stemmed from these.