Agenda item

(Director of Corporate Support Services) To consider the attached report.

The meeting noted that final agreement to the recommendations on the provision of meters in taxi was postponed from their last meeting. They noted that a large number of those consulted were in favour of having meters installed in taxis (131 were in agreement and 51 were against). Further work had also been done on the tariffs to be applied and these were attached to the report as an appendix. However, with the increasing cost of petrol, road tax and costs in general the tariff may need to be reviewed in the near future.

Councillor Lion asked about the element of waiting time, was this included in the tariff. He was told that it was.

Councillor Sartin queried if, according to recommendation 2, we had to go to consultation again. Alison Mitchell said that the original consultation was for the taxi trade and drivers. This new consultation was a statutory consultation that has to be advertised in the local press so that people could comment on the proposed tariffs.  If no comments were made then we can go ahead, but if any comments were submitted then they will have to be brought back to this committee for consideration. It will then have to go to full Council for agreement.

Councillor Angold-Stephens noted that the timescale was very tight especially to have meters installed to the deadline of 1 April. He asked what the consultation period was and was told it was 28 days. He then noted that if any comments were received they could squeeze in an extra meeting to consider them before the Council meeting in February. Alison Mitchell added that the installation deadline could be pushed back to 1 June to give them extra time to install the meters. Councillor Sartin agreed that would be a more realistic date. It was noted that the 1^st of June was a Sunday and it was agreed that it be amended to 2^nd June.

AGREED: that the deadline for the installation of metres be changed to 2^nd June 2014.

The committee then discussed the viability of having a vehicle with three doors instead of the usual four asked for in our policy. This had happened recently and the sub-committee inspected the vehicle and found it to be a people carrier, with better access that a normal saloon car.  Was this something that the council should be taking into consideration and perhaps thinking of altering our policy?

Alison Mitchell thought that officers should take advice on this and bring a report back to the next committee meeting. She noted that there were concerns about wheelchair access and transport in these vehicles and that would be addressed in the report.

Councillor Smith was happy that advice should be sought. She noted that this was an infrequent occurrence and that it was at the discretion of the sub-committee to agree.

AGREED: that a report on the use of vehicles with three doors to be brought to the next meeting of the Licensing Committee.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy be amended to include provisions in relation to the installation of taxi meters by 2^nd June 2014; and

(2)  That the fares shown in the report be put out to public consultation and if no replies were received that they are adopted and were to come into effect on 2^nd June 2014.