Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest made at the meeting.

Consideration was given to the report, presented by the Licensing Manager, which provided detailed performance in relation to the Licensing Team’s performance against the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Performance Framework for 1^st April, 2024 to 31^st March, 2025, as well as an overview of the general performance of the Service.

The report also sought the views of the Board on some proposed changes to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy (which would be the subject of formal consultation later in the year).

The Licensing Manager guided the Licensing Board through the detail in the report and provided further information on the areas of:-

·        The number of on the spot inspections of taxis

·        The percentage of taxis found to be compliant with the licensing regime during on the spot inspections

·        Performance against the Licensing Service Performance Management Framework

·        The performance of the Council’s Licensing Team in relation to quality assurance and administrative aspects of the Service

In addition to the above, the report also detailed some of the current challenges being faced by the Service, outlined key areas of work and introduced the upcoming partial review of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy with regard to clarification on the vehicle age and emissions requirements and amendment to vehicle signage and driver identification. Both of these aspects will be the subject of formal consultation later in 2025.

The report provided a summary of enforcement action that had taken place between April 2024 and March 2025 including details of actions taken by Enforcement Officers along with enforcement actions taken by other officers within the Licensing Service and the outcomes of Licensing Board Sub-Committee hearings.  It highlighted:-

-        121 vehicles and drivers had been inspected of which 97% of vehicles (97%) and 94% (114) of drivers were found to be compliant with licensing requirements

-        The vehicle non-compliance related to missing signage, absence of a first aid kit and failures of vehicle lights.  All of the defects that were identified were rectified the same day

-        Driver non-compliances related to the failure of the driver to wear their ID in the required manner. All of the drivers had their ID badge in their vehicle, and the non-compliances were rectified immediately (except in one case where the driver went home for his badge and then returned to the inspection site within 15 minutes).

-        Targets had been set against 16 performance measures of which 2 were off target

-        There were an additional 4 measures that were being monitored but no target set

-        Between 1^st April, 2024 and 31^st March, 2025, 15 appeals had been listed for consideration by the Magistrates Court in relation to decisions made by Licensing Officers and/or Licensing Board Sub-Committee (13 related to driver matters and 2 to an operator licence).  One of the appeals had been withdrawn by the appellant prior to the hearing and another discharged by way of a Consent Order.  Of the remaining 13 appeals, 8 had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.