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Contact: Lowri Haf Evans Email: lowrihafevans@gwynedd.gov.uk 01286 679 878
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were
received from Councillors Peter Read, Louise Hughes, Tudor Owen and Elfed W Williams It was reported
that Councillor Tudor Owen
had recently received surgery, and it
was decided that the Committee would send him a card
wishing him well and a full and
speedy recovery. |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from
any members present. |
|
URGENT ITEMS To note any
items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for
consideration. Minutes: None to note |
|
The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held
on 20.06.2016 be signed as a true record.
Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, that took place on
20 June 2016, as a true
record. |
|
GENERAL LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE MINUTES PDF 213 KB To submit,
for information, minutes of the General Licensing Sub-committee meeting held on
the following date – a) 25.05.16 b) 04.10.16 c) 19.10.16 Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for information, the
minutes of the meetings of the General Licensing Sub-committee that took place
on 25.05.16, 04.10.16 and 19.10.16. |
|
TAXI LICENSING AND THE IMMIGRATION ACT 2016 PDF 170 KB To consider
the Head of Regulatory Services report Minutes: The report of the Head of Regulatory Services was submitted
highlighting the amendments
to the Immigration Act 2016 that
had come into effect on 1st December
2016. The purpose
of the amendments were to ensure that Licensing
Authorities do not present licences to illegal immigrants and when they undertake
this duty they conduct immigration
checks. When he elaborated on the
background the officer noted, ·
That
the Act amended the current UK licensing systems to try and prevent illegal
working in the taxis/private hire/hackney vehicle licensing sector. ·
The 2016 Act incorporated
the immigration safeguarding
methods in the existing licensing systems in the context of the Licensing Act 2003
across the UK, however the arrangements for these provisions had not been confirmed. Attention was drawn to the impact of the new measures listed in the report together
with the duties of the Licensing Authorities to implement the amendments to the
Act. When considering the implications of implementing these amendments, it was noted that all new legislation presented more work and usually this
was yet another step in a process rather than new work. It was explained that although Licensing Officers already checked some of the documentation required under the Immigration Act 2016,
the new requirements would entail undertaking
every check in the presence of the applicant; the initial checks and requests
could take more time to process as well as arranging
for officers to receive further training on the identification of fake documents. Also, as it
appeared that these would be additional steps in the application checking process, it was difficult to fully measure the implications and the situation may be clearer within 6 months. In response to a question regarding the Legislation coming into effect
on 1st December, it was explained that the guidelines had been received following
this date and no Welsh version
was available. In response to a question regarding sharing the information with taxi companies, it was noted that
the news-sheet had not been
distributed and therefore the suggestion was accepted to create a simple and clear
leaflet for taxi companies that would outline
the amendments to the Immigration
Act 2016. The information was accepted |
|
FFORDD GWYNEDD - LICENSING EXCERSISE Oral update
from the Licensing Manager Minutes: An oral update was received
from the Senior Planning and Environment Manager on the licensing service's
recent exercises over the last 12 months to review their work processes to
ensure that the people of Gwynedd were central to what was being implemented. It was noted that the process provided an opportunity for all to have an input into
the service review and the process had identified opportunities such as, ·
Reconciling and rationalisation of taxi licensing policies ·
Introduction of self-service ·
Delete the elements with no value
within the process - need to create a smooth process The next steps of
the exercise will be to identify the resource to improve and facilitate
Matters arising from the ensuing discussion; ·
Need
to ensure consistency with taxi fees ·
Need to update the Committee often of the situation in order
to ensure support to facilitate the process forward In response to a question regarding facilitating the reviews, it was noted that the Department would look for the Committee's
support as well as to give guidance
to the process.
It was suggested that a working group should be established to discuss the reviews and ensure
input. The information was accepted and the Department was thanked for the work. |