Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Mattu, Councillor Ahmed, Councillor Potter and Dean Ball, Senior Compliance Officer.

There were no declarations of interest.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee held on 22 January 2020 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Chris Howell, Commercial Regulation Manager, informed Committee of the following:

Item 12 – Paragraph 8.2 of the report should state that the new charges will

come into effect on 1 April 2020, not 1 May 2019.

Item 13 - Paragraph 3.11 of Appendix 1 and Paragraph 3.4 of Appendix 3 were included in error and would be removed. He added that as discussed at the previous meeting, there were also typos and administrative errors which had subsequently been amended and agreed by the Chair of Licensing. Final versions would be added as supplementary papers. 

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Non-Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee held on 18 February 2020 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Greg Bickerdike, Section Leader Licensing, presented a proposed traffic regulation order (TRO) following a review and public consultation on taxi ranks within the city. He outlined the feedback received from the consultation.

Councillor Brackenridge commended the report and proposed the recommendations. Councillor Inston seconded the recommendations.  

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee noted:

1. Licensing Services’ response to the consultation on taxi ranks.
2. The proposed traffic regulation order.

Chris Howell, Commercial Regulation Manager, outlined a Mystery Shopper Exercise undertaken by Licensing Compliance in order to evaluate the operation, usage, accessibility and equal access provided to people who were physically disabled when using Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles.

He highlighted the key findings and asked Members to approve the extension of the Mystery Shopper Exercise to include individuals who identified as having a protected characteristic as defined under the Equality Act 2010.

Councillor Muston proposed the recommendations and Councillor Bolshaw seconded the recommendations.  

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

1. Approved the extension of the Mystery Shopper Exercise in relation to private hire and hackney carriage licensed vehicles.
2. Noted the evaluation of the Mystery Shopper Scheme at Appendix 1.

Chris Howell, Commercial Regulation Manager, presented the Review of Decision Making 2019-2020 report for approval. He outlined the annual report of the decisions made over the last municipal year and set out the delegations for the forthcoming year. The amendments to delegations were necessary due to restructuring within the Council and the resultant changes in Job titles.

Councillor Russell proposed the recommendations and Councillor Brackenridge seconded the recommendations.  

Councillor Brackenridge commended Licensing Services and thanked Officers for using such a robust system which was reflected by the figures within the report.

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

1. Endorsed and approve the proposals in section 2 of this report relating to category 2 decisions.
2. Endorsed and approve the proposals in section 2 of this report relating to category 3 decisions.
3. Delegated category 3 decision making powers to the Director for City Environment.
4. Agreed to receive further annual delegation update reports at the beginning of each municipal year.
5. Noted the schedule attached at Appendix 1 to this report which includes further proposed delegations from the Director for City Environment.
6. Noted he schedule of employee decisions for 2019 - 2020 attached at Appendix 2 to this report in relation to new hackney carriage and private hire applications.
7. Noted the schedule of employee decisions for 2019 - 2020 attached at Appendix 3 to this report in relation to hackney carriage and private hire reviews.
8. Noted the schedule of decisions for 2019 - 2020 attached at Appendix 4 to this report in relation Magistrates and Crown Court appeals.

Chris Howell, Commercial Regulation Manager, presented the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle

Drivers with effect from 1 June 2020.

He advised that the trade had been severely affected by the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. He proposed a mid-term reduction in application fees for licences relating to hackney carriages, private hire vehicles and drivers.

The Commercial Regulation Manager further advised that the service was looking to reopen Hickman Avenue to the taxi trade with appropriate safety measures in place.

Members welcomed the reduction in fees but expressed concern regarding driver and passenger safety. In response to questions asked, the Commercial Regulation Manager stated that the authority was following the advice issued by the government.

Councillor Crofts proposed the recommendations and Councillor Russell seconded the recommendations.  

Resolved:

That Members of the Non-Statutory Licensing Committee:

1. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers as set out in Appendix 1 with effect from 1 June 2020.
2. Approved the proposed fees and charges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles as set out in Appendix 2 with effect from 1 June 2020.