Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Group Head of Technical Services presented the report which explained that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy was last reviewed and approved in 2017 and should be reviewed periodically and at least every five years, over which time several pieces of statutory and non-statutory guidance had been released and new pieces of relevant legislation introduced. It was also explained that, because of the policy revision, a requirement to amend the current Hackney Carriage Byelaws so that they aligned with the policy proposals was needed and therefore the report sought the Committee’s approval to publish the draft revised policy for consultation and agree to advertise and consult regarding amending the Hackney Carriage Byelaws. Proposed changes to the policy highlighted in the meeting included:

·         wheelchair accessible vehicle requirements

·         vehicle livery and requirements to display large stickers on the side of vehicles to better indicate whether they were taxis/private hire

·         changes to the emissions policy to encourage the transition to lower emission vehicles, including proposals to discount licences of ultra low emission vehicles for a period of time

·         revisions to the convictions policy in order to bring it in line with the Institute of Licensing’s conviction guidance to ensure consistency across Local Authorities

·         updates to the dress code to ensure a high standard of attire and presentation from drivers

·         a proposal to introduce and mandate the use of CCTV in taxis for the prevention and detection of crime

·         revisions to the penalty points system

·         clarifications around decision making

The Acting Chair thanked the team for the hard work involved in this project. Another Member of the Committee spoke in support of proposals and in particular the green features being proposed and introduced.

The recommendations were then proposed by Councillor Clayden and seconded by Councillor Blanchard-Cooper.

The Committee

RESOLVED – That

1.    The draft revised policy be published for public consultation for a period of six weeks beginning 19 September 2022 until 31 October 2022. Comments will be brought back to Committee for consideration;

2.    The proposed Byelaws be advertised and consulted upon and brought back to Committee for consideration.