- Combined
Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence Policy
- Hackney
Carriage & Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Policy
-
Private Hire Operator’s Licensing Policy
To submit
the report of the Head of Regulatory Department to receive the support of the
committee to the direction of the proposed high level changes to the taxi
licensing policies
Minutes:
·
Combined Hackney
Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence Policy
·
Hackney Carriage & Private
Hire Vehicle Licensing Policy
·
Private Hire Operator’s
Licensing Policy
Submitted – a report by the
Head of the Regulatory Department requesting the committee’s support to review
the licensing policies and to create a unified policy to replace the three
separate policy documents. It was also noted that during its meeting on 22 June 2015 this Committee
resolved that the policies and working practices relating to Taxi Licensing
needed to be updated and reviewed following the increase in the number of
applications being made to license a vehicle contrary to policy and following
the Deregulation Act 2015 and the measures affecting the Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
In relation to a unified
policy, it was noted that the Local Government Association: (ref ‘Taxi
and PHV Licensing – Councillor’s Handbook’ dated March 2015) strongly
encouraged licensing authorities to create an unified policy that brought
together all their policies and procedures in one place. Creating a single, unified policy that would be
reviewed on a regular basis would provide clarity for drivers and operators, as
well as strengthening the council’s position if there was a challenge against a
decision in court.
The attention of Members was
drawn to the proposed high-level changes that would need consideration in
relation to drivers, vehicles and operators, and in particular ‘grandfather
rights’, ‘vehicle age specifications’ and ‘wheelchair accessibility’.
Under ‘grandfather rights’
it was proposed:
Proposal 1: That the
‘Grandfather Rights’ status for Arfon hackney carriage proprietors be removed
from the policy and all proprietors be subject to the same conditions and
vehicle requirements. It is also proposed
that the vehicle specification of all vehicles in all zones be unified to
create a more transparent and relevant policy for all proprietors across the
county.
Under ‘vehicle age
specifications’ it was proposed,
Proposal 2: In all zones,
an application to license a vehicle for the first time as a Hackney Carriage or
Private Hire vehicle must be in respect of a vehicle that is less than 6 years
old on the date when the completed application is received by the Licensing
Authority.
Proposal 3: In all zones,
an application to renew the licence
of a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire vehicle must be in respect of a vehicle
that is less than 12 years old on the date when the current licence expires.
Proposal 4: Gwynedd
Council will permit the renewal of a licence of a Hackney Carriage or Private
Hire vehicle beyond the upper age limit of 12 years if it can be shown that the
vehicle is in ‘exceptional condition’.
Under ‘wheelchair
accessibility’ it was proposed:
Proposal 5: All
proprietors will be encouraged to license as many wheelchair accessible hackney
carriages as they deem necessary.
However, Gwynedd Council will impose a
requirement that for every 7 licensed hackney carriages in a proprietor’s fleet
at least 1 hackney carriage of that 7 must be a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Therefore if the fleet size was 14 hackney
carriages, the requirement would be that at least 2 of the 14 vehicles be
wheelchair accessible.
It was anticipated that
Proposals 1 – 5 could be considered contentious changes to the current policy
and conditions regarding Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles by some
proprietors or users in the Arfon area. However, it was outlined that these changes would be
made in the spirit of ‘Ffordd Gwynedd’ and would ensure consistency for everyone
across the zones. It was noted that the
process of amending requirements was complex, and that the intention was to
introduce policies that met the needs of Gwynedd’s citizens and ensured an
effective Licensing service for all owners and users.
Regarding a timescale, it
was noted that the Cabinet Member was eager for the Committee to receive a
draft copy of the unified policy prior to the start of the consultation. Officials
would aim to present a draft document at the next meeting (7 December 2015)
RESOLVED
to accept the report in accordance with the amended recommendations:
The
Committee authorises the Head of the Regulatory Department to commence a review
of the licensing policies in relation to hackney and private hire operators,
vehicles and drivers.
The
Committee supports the overall direction of Proposals 1 to 5 as a starting
point for the review.
The meeting commenced at
10:00am and concluded at 10:55am
Supporting documents: