To submit
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department to receive the support of the
committee regarding the taxi licensing fees from 1 October 2015
Minutes:
Submitted - the report of
the Head of the Regulatory Department, recommending that the Committee
supported the intention to increase the Taxi Licensing Fees to the recommended
levels, in order to achieve full cost recovery, prior to their approval by the
Head of the Regulatory Department for implementation from 1 October 2015.
The Council was required to review its fees
in respect of taxi licensing (i.e. hackney carriage licences, private hire
vehicle licences, private hire operator licence and driver licences) on a
regular basis. Sections 53 and 70 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1976 provided that fees could be charged at a level sufficient
to recover reasonable costs. On 24 June 2013, this Licensing Committee decided:
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To review the fees annually
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That taxi
licensing fees must be increased in order to achieve full cost recovery.
This year, the Treasurer’s
Department had calculated that the amount which the Council was permitted to
recover the cost of providing the taxi licensing function in 2015/16 is
£141,626.
In 2014/15, the actual
income from taxi licensing had been £127,848. There was therefore a projected income shortfall of £13,778
for 2015/16. It was therefore suggested, in order to achieve full cost recovery
and to ensure that the Unit was self-sufficient, that this year’s fees should
be increased by 10.78%.
It was reported that the
proposed fees had been consulted upon internally with the Head of Finance who
supported increasing the fees to achieve full cost recovery. A public notice had been placed in the local press on
20 August 2015 and a copy made available for inspection in Siop Gwynedd
Caernarfon, Pwllheli and Dolgellau in accordance with the statutory
requirements. The consultation end date
was 17 September 2015. In addition to the statutory requirements a copy of the
public notice had been made available on the Council’s website and the taxi
trade had been informed of the consultation by letter on 14 August 205. A total
of 505 letters had been sent. The trade
had been reminded in this letter that there would be an opportunity to submit
formal representations during the consultation period. As at 14/09/15 the Licensing Unit had received one letter objecting to the new fees.
During the discussion, the following observations were
made:
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Would the
cost deficit be a recurring pattern?
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Were the
numbers of drivers decreasing due to the increasing costs?
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What was
the comparison with nearby counties
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Both
operators and drivers needed to recover costs, therefore fairness must be
ensured
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Historically, the Council
had not regularly increased its fees, and therefore since 2013 the increase
appeared to be high. However, the percentages
had been increased at acceptable rates.
-
505 letters had been sent –
one objector had responded to the review – which illustrated that the companies
accepted the increase.
In response to the above
observations, the Head of the Regulatory Department noted that the intention
was for the fee to reach the costs of providing the service, in the hope that
there would ultimately be no deficit. If income exceeded the costs, the profit
would have to be considered against the following year’s fees. The fees would be reviewed annually – it was difficult
to anticipate the fees, but it was required to operate in accordance with the
act.
The Licensing Manager noted
that there had been no substantial change in the number of drivers / operators,
but Members were reminded that the length of the licence period would change in
October 2015 due to the requirements of the Deregulation Act 2015. The length
of a licence would be 3 and 5 years, which would again have an impact on the
income. It was also noted that information about the fees in neighbouring counties
could be provided by the next meeting. Additionally,
it was noted that every Council had to review its fees by 1.10.2015.
It was proposed and seconded to support the intention.
RESOLVED
to support the intention to increase the Taxi Licensing Fees to the suggested
levels in order to achieve full cost recovery, prior to their approval by the
Head of the Regulatory Department for implementation from 1 October 2015.
Supporting documents: