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Minutes:
In
November 2023, the Department for Transport issued the “Taxi and Private Hire
Vehicle Licensing: Best Practice Guidance for licensing authorities in
England”. This guidance led to a review of Cambridge City Council’s Hackney
Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy being presented to the Licensing
Committee in September 2024.
The
Committee gave permission for four potential changes to the Policy to be
subject to a public consultation. This report brought those four potential
changes to the Policy back to the Licensing Committee.
In response to
Members’ questions the Environmental Health Manager said the following:
i.
In
principle agreement from the Licensing Committee was required for the Council
to provide wheelchair accessible training before Officers could look into what
the cost of this training might be.
ii.
The
Council would look at developing an ‘App’ for recording daily check results.
When vehicle inspections were undertaken, Officers would ask to see the daily
check records.
iii.
Noted
Member’s request to add a sentence to the top of the daily vehicle check that
these checks are required to protect the safety of the travelling public and
the taxi drivers themselves.
Councillor Bick
proposed an amendment to the Officer’s recommendation that officers explored
whether all the daily safety checks needed to be undertaken daily or whether
some could be carried out monthly.
This amendment was
carried unanimously nem con.
The Legal Advisor
requested that a vote be taken on the inclusion of a new paragraph 33.7 within
the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy (as set out in paragraph 2.3
of the Officer’s report), which
clarified the position in regards to licence holders that have had their
licences previously suspended, revoked or refused by Cambridge City Council or
other Local Authorities that ‘An applicant who has been
suspended/refused/revoked by Cambridge City Council or another Local Authority
may not be considered “fit and proper” for a period of at least 10 years from
the date of the suspension/refusal/revocation. This period may be extended
depending on the circumstances. The NR3S register will be consulted for all
applications’.
The Committee
approved this unanimously.
Resolved
(unanimously) to:
i.
Approve
the changes made to the Policy as per the tracked changes in Appendix A of the
Officer’s report, including:
a.
Introduction
of the training of drivers in loading wheelchairs and wheelchair users into
Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles.
b.
For
drivers to daily safety checks of the licensed vehicle.
c.
Private
Hire Vehicles should continue to display operator signs.
d.
Applicants
shall hold a full driving license for more than 2 years before applying to be a
licensed driver.
ii.
Delegate
authority to Officers to explore whether all the daily safety checks needed to
be undertaken daily or whether some could be carried out monthly.
iii.
Allow
Officers to decide how to introduce and implement driver training in loading wheelchairs and
wheelchair users into Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles.
a.
An
applicant who has been suspended/refused/revoked by Cambridge City Council or
another Local Authority may not be considered “fit and proper” for a period of
at least 10 years from the date of the suspension/refusal/revocation. This
period may be extended depending on the circumstances. The NR3S register will
be consulted for all applications.
Supporting documents: