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No. | Item |
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CHAIRMAN To elect a
Chairman for 2015/16 Minutes: Resolved to elect Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams as Chairman of the Committee for 2015 -
2016. |
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VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a
Vice-chairman for 2015/16 Minutes: Resolved to elect Councillor Tudor Owen as
Vice-chairman for the year 2015 - 2016. |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Minutes: Everyone was welcomed to the meeting by the
Chairman, Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams. Apologies were received from
Councillors Eddie Dogan, Llywarch
Bowen Jones and Ann Williams. Gareth Jones, Senior Planning and Environment
Manager, was welcomed to the Committee. It was noted that Gareth Jones had
taken on temporary responsibility for the Public Protection department
following the retirement of Mr John Reynolds, Senior Public Protection
Manager. A message had been sent on
behalf of the committee to thank Mr John Reynolds for his service and support
for the Licensing Committees over the years. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were
received from any members present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any
items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for
consideration. Minutes: None to note |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held
on 08 December 2014 be signed as a true record.
Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the
previous meeting of this committee, held on 9 March 2015, as a true record. |
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GENERAL LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE MINUTES PDF 194 KB To submit,
for information, minutes of the General Licensing Sub-committee meetings held
on the following dates – a)
08.12.2014 b)
17.12.2014 Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - for information,
the minutes of meetings of
the General Licensing Sub-committee held on 09.02.15 and 12.05. 2015 |
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To submit
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department for information / discussion Minutes: Submitted – for information,
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department to raise Members’ awareness of
amendments to the Local Government Act (miscellaneous provision) 1976: The
Deregulation Act 2015. It was noted that the Deregulation Act 2015 had received
Royal Ascent on 26 March 2015 which would provide for the removal or reduction
of burdens on businesses, individuals, public sector bodies and individuals. It
was highlighted that the Deregulation Act 2015 covered a very wide range of
‘measures affecting business: particular areas’ which included sections
regarding Taxis and Private Hire, thereby affecting the Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Attention was drawn to the
main measures that would affect the Taxi and Private Hire provisions of the
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, namely: ·
S10 – Taxis and private
hire vehicles: duration of licences ·
S11 – Private hire
vehicles: sub-contracting It was added that the
changes would come into force on 1.10.2015 and were likely to create
substantial impact on the department’s arrangements. In addition, the change in
the duration of licences would impact the fee that would be set for these
licences. The fees charged would have to be set for three years and be
reasonable with the main aim of recovering the running and enforcement costs of
each licensing scheme. It was highlighted that the
Council was required to re-calculate the fees for a three year driver’s licence
and a five year private hire operator’s licence. The Council could amend the
fee for a driver licence without public consultation; however, the fee setting
of the private hire operator’s licence was subject to public notice
procedure. Discussions had already
commenced with the Finance Department to re-calculate the fees structure. It
was intended to submit the new fees structure proposal to a special meeting of
this Committee during the coming weeks. If approved, the new fees structure
regarding private hire operator’s licences would then be subject to a public
notice procedure. On conclusion of the public consultation, the fees structure
could be formally approved by the Committee during its September 2015 meeting,
for implementation on 1 October 2015.
RESOLVED to accept the report. |
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To submit
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department for decision Minutes: Submitted for a decision – the report of the
Head of Regulatory Department. It was noted that applicants of a ‘Combined
Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence’ were exempt from the
provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Rehabilitation
of Offenders Act 1974 (Exception) (Amendment) Order 2002. Applicants were
required to disclose ALL convictions, cautions and fixed penalties. In
accordance with s46 of the Town Police Clauses Act and s51 of the Local
Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 the council would not grant a
combined ‘Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence’ unless it was
satisfied that the applicant was a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a licence. However,
in the Council’s existing policy the notes did not clearly identify how to
apply for disclosure. In addition, reference was made to the Police
Act 1997 which noted that an enhanced criminal record certificate, when
considering an applicant’s suitability to obtain or hold a hackney carriage
driver’s licence or private hire driver’s licence, MUST also include
suitability information i.e. a barred list check, relating to children and
adults. The existing policy document did not make
reference to accepting previously issued DBS Enhanced level certificates nor
did it specify the duration a DBS Enhanced level certificate was considered to
be valid. Taking the legal requirements into consideration, the practice of
accepting previously issued DBS Enhanced level certificates may continue ONLY
IF the previously issued certificate was an Enhanced Level Certificate and it
included the children barred list and adult barred list check. RESOLVED to accept the
report in accordance with the recommendations stressing the need to ensure that
the barred list is checked. |
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To submit
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department for decision Minutes: Submitted for a decision - the report of the Head
of Regulatory Department drawing the Members’ attention to the background of
the report. It was noted that at a meeting on 17 September 2012, the Committee
had resolved to delegate the power to the Head of Regulatory Department, in
consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair of the General Licensing
Sub-committee, to approve taxi vehicle licensing decisions for vehicles that
did not comply with the authority’s policy.
On 8 December 2014, the Committee had resolved that an additional member,
Councillor Peter Read, was to be included on the ‘decisions panel’ in order to
ensure that three areas (Arfon, Meirion,
Dwyfor) were represented. During the period between 17 September 2012 and 30
April 2015, it was reported that a total of 73 licences had been granted for
vehicles which were contrary to Gwynedd Council’s existing Hackney Carriage
Vehicle policy. It was noted that the number of applications to license
vehicles that failed to comply with the policy had increased considerably since
the decision had been made to delegate the licensing decisions to the Head of
Regulatory Department in consultation with the ‘decisions panel’. It was recognised that the consultation process was
quite intensive as many applicants were eager to receive a decision on their
application as soon as possible. It was noted that complaints had been made
recently to the Council regarding delays and the way in which applications to
license a vehicle that did not comply with the policy were being processed. In
light of these complaints, the Head of Regulatory Department had resolved to
review the situation and hold discussions with the Legal Department to obtain
advice regarding the current arrangement for making decisions. It was
highlighted that there was no change to the process but that clarity was required
regarding the advice offered to applicants when making initial enquiries about
applications. It was added that applicants must submit a formal application. It
was noted that reviewing the process had been useful and that applicants’
expectations of the situation were managed effectively as a result. In response, an observation was made that a delayed
decision was usually the result of specific reasons and that the main aim was
to make the right decision to ensure public safety. In relation to paragraph 3.4 of the report, the
solicitor explained that it would not be the fact that the ‘Decisions Panel’
members failed to reach a decision on an application for advice on a specific
vehicle that would exclude them from voting on a licence application in relation
to that vehicle at the General Licensing Sub-committee hearing, rather it would
be the fact that they had dealt with the application for advice in the first
place. The Senior Planning and Environment Manager and the Solicitor confirmed the following changes to the report: delete paragraph 4.5; delete paragraph 5.1 and insert a new 5.1 paragraph as follows “The report notes”; delete paragraph 5.2 and insert a new 5.2 paragraph ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |