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Venue: Council Chamber, Penallta House, Tredomen, Ystrad Mynach. View directions
Contact: Rebecca Barrett
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D. Cushing, W. David, K. Etheridge and W. Williams. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: There were no declarations of
interest received at the commencement or during the course of the meeting. |
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HACKNEY CARRIAGE/ PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE OPERATOR FEES - 2019/20 PDF 478 KB Minutes: The Licensing Manager presented the report,
which recommended changes in fees in respect of Private Hire/ Hackney Carriage
Vehicle and Operator fees following the statutory 28 day consultation period in
respect of proposed increases. Members were reminded of the report on Taxi and
General Licensing/Registration/Permit Fees for 2019/20 considered by the
Committee on 20th June 2019 and set out at Appendix 1, which included a £10.00
increase for vehicle fees and a £22.00 increase for operator fees for a five
year licence. The proposed fee for a vehicle
licence falls short of full cost recovery but was felt to be a realistic
increase in the current climate. At that meeting, the Committee approved the
statutory publication of the proposed new fees in respect of these licence
types for a 28 day consultation period, with the new fees to come into effect
immediately thereafter if no objections were received. During the 28 day consultation period, an
objection to the proposed increases was received from the Caerphilly County
Borough Taxi Drivers Association which was set out at Appendix 2 of the
report. The CCBTDA asked to raise their
objection directly with the Committee and no detail as to the nature of the
objection was included with their submission.
The Committee were therefore asked to consider
the proposed fees as detailed in section 5.4 of the latest report, subject to
any comments from the CCBDTA, and determine the fees for 2019/20 and the date
any variations should come into effect. Mr Chris Bundy of the CCBTDA was invited to
address the Committee and outline his objections regarding the proposals. Mr Bundy spoke of the financial hardship
already being experienced by many taxi drivers as a result of increases across
fuel prices, insurance premiums, and other taxi-associated costs, and of the
uncertainty being faced by the trade in view of Brexit. With this in mind, he appealed to the
Committee to consider delaying any fee increase until after 31st October 2019
(the date scheduled for Britain to leave the EU), in order to allow the trade
to gauge and prepare for any impact following Brexit. Questions were invited from the Committee and a Member queried if the
fee increase could be delayed until after Brexit. Officers advised that any consideration of
any postponement would be a matter for the Committee. Following discussion amongst the Committee, an amendment to the report
recommendation was moved and seconded, in that determination of the vehicle and
operator fees for 2019/20 be delayed until after the scheduled Brexit date of
31st October 2019, and that the proposed fee increases be brought back to the
Taxi and General Committee for reconsideration after that date. By a show of hands this was unanimously
agreed. RESOLVED that :- (i) determination of the vehicle and
operator fees for 2019/20 as set out in the report be delayed until after the
scheduled Brexit date of 31st October 2019; (ii) the proposals in respect of these fee increases be brought back to the ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |
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Minutes: Consideration was give
to the report, which recommended the adoption of new guidance on determining
the suitability of applicants and licensees in the hackney and private hire
trades in the County borough. Members were advised that the Institute of
Licensing (IOL), in partnership with other organisations, have produced
guidance on determining the suitability of applicants and licensees in the hackney
and private hire trades. The document
was subsequently endorsed by the Wales Licensing Expert Panel with the
recommendation that all Welsh authorities replace their current
guidelines/policy with this new guidance.
A number of authorities in Wales and England have since adopted the
guidance with a view to providing a consistent approach to the determination of
applications for hackney carriage and private hire trades. A copy of the guidance was appended to the
report, with Members asked to note that the new guidance is more stringent than
the existing Caerphilly CBC criteria.
Examples of offence types and the existing criteria versus the proposed
new criteria were set out at Section 5.6 of the report. In
addition to the national consultation undertaken on the IOL Guidance, a 4 week
consultation exercise with all 480 existing licensees took place in Caerphilly
county borough during April 2019. 9
responses were received in total, which were set out at Appendix 2 of the
report, and either opposed the adoption of the new guidance or advocated the
provision of ‘grandfather rights’ for existing drivers. Several respondees
also made reference to medical requirements, which is a separate requirement
and not relevant to the adoption of this guidance. The
report therefore advocated the adoption of the IOL guidance by Caerphilly
Council, and that ‘grandfather rights’ be extended to existing licensed drivers
in this regard. As a consequence,
existing matters will not be reassessed, but any new convictions, cautions or
other matters connected to an existing licencee’s
character will be considered against the proposed new guidance set out at
Appendix 4 of the report. The approach
of providing grandfather rights is consistent with the approach taken by other
Welsh authorities, including Powys and Pembrokeshire. Any new applications across the hackney and
private hire trades will be assessed against the new guidance. It was noted that if Members were minded to adopt
the new guidance, it would come into effect after the next Taxi and General Sub
Committee on 11th October 2019. The report noted that future changes to legislation and guidance may
have an impact on this policy and the driver conditions, and therefore proposed
that Officers review the policy regularly and amend as required for minor
administrative purposes or to comply with changes in legislation or statutory
guidance. Any significant changes will
be brought before the Taxi and General Committee for Members’ consideration. During the course of debate on this item, reference was made to “grandfather rights” in respect of the higher standard of medical fitness test for taxi drivers (Group 2 medicals) adopted by the Council in May 2015. Officers explained that this is a separate licensing ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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GUIDANCE ON THE PROVISION OF CCTV IN HACKEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES PDF 751 KB Minutes: Consideration was given to the report, which recommended amendments to
the Authority’s existing guidance in respect of the provision of CCTV in
hackney carriage and private hire vehicles, following amendments to legislation
and best practice guidance. The Licensing Manager explained that there is no mandatory requirement
for CCTV installation in the borough and there is no restriction on the
installation of CCTV in hackney carriages or private hire vehicles licensed by
the Council, save for the need for the licensee to comply with ICO (Information
Commissioner’s Office) requirements and Construction and Use Regulations in
relation to any equipment fitted Members were advised that any licensed person installing an in-vehicle
CCTV system should be aware of restrictions or controls regarding the
installation and use of such systems. It
was explained that the Council had been made aware of recent changes to
existing Information Commissioner’s guidance, exceptional circumstances where
audio recording may be permitted, and the removal of the fee for subject access
requests. In view of these changes, the
report recommended a number of amendments to the Council’s existing CCTV
guidance sheet, which were set out in the report for the Committee’s
approval. The Committee discussed the report and in response to a Member’s query,
Officers confirmed that the guidance related to the use of in-vehicle CCTV
systems and not dashcams. A Member asked if a driver would have to
surrender CCTV footage upon request, and the Licensing Manager explained that
this would be dependent upon the nature of the investigation and would be led
by ICO guidance or relevant police powers.
It was emphasised that there is no mandatory CCTV requirement and that
the purpose of the report is to advise Members of the minor amendments to guidance
issued to vehicle proprietors and drivers who may wish to install CCTV in their
vehicles. It was moved and seconded that the
recommendations as set out in the report be approved. By a show of hands this
was unanimously agreed. RESOLVED that the amended guidance in relation to the provision of CCTV
in hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the borough, as appended to
the report, be approved. |
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REPORT REQUEST IN RELATION TO GROUP 2 MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS Minutes: Consideration was given to the earlier request
by a Member to revisit the Group 2 medical requirements adopted by the Council
in May 2015. The Member referred to
other local authorities where “grandfather rights” had been adopted for the
Group 2 medical fitness test, and requested if a report could be brought to the
Committee to examine how those particular local authorities had dealt with this
aspect of licensing. Another Member expressed concerns about
revisiting the standard of medical requirements for licensed drivers in view of
the need to uphold public safety. The Licensing Manager explained that the
majority of local authorities had adopted the higher standard of medical
fitness test following guidance from the Department of Transport which advocated
Group 2 medicals, but confirmed that a report could be produced as per the
Member’s request if the Committee were in agreement. It was moved and seconded that the report
request be supported, and by a show of hands, and in noting there was 1 abstention,
this was agreed by the majority present. RESOLVED that a report on the management of medical requirements across
local authorities in Wales, and details of how and why some local authorities
gave “grandfather rights” to existing licensees in relation to Group 1 and
Group 2 medical requirements, be presented to the next meeting of the Taxi and
General Committee. The
meeting closed at 11.50 a.m. |