Agenda and draft minutes

Licensing & Public Protection Committee - Thursday, 30th January, 2025 7.00 pm

Venue: Astley Room - Castle

Contact: Geoff Durham 742222 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

There were no apologies.

2.

MINUTES OF A PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 221 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:    That the minutes of the meeting held on 29th October 2024 be agreed as a true and accurate record.

3.

MINUTES OF LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MEETINGS pdf icon PDF 184 KB

To consider the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committees which have met since the previous Licensing and Public Protection Committee.

 

Minutes:

Resolved:    That the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting held on 29th November 2024 be received.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN RELATION TO PUBLIC PROTECTION MATTERS

To receive declarations of interest from Members on items contained within the agenda

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest stated.

5.

PRIVATE HIRE AND HACKNEY CARRIAGE FEES AND CHARGES 2025/2026 pdf icon PDF 344 KB

Minutes:

The Licensing Administration Team Manager presented the report on the proposed taxi and private hire fees, following up on last meeting and the consultation subsequently held.

 

Cllr Sweeney noted the reduction of fees for taxi drivers’ knowledge tests in alignment with the actual costs for the Council, which the Chair was also pleased about.

 

Resolved:    That the proposed taxi and private hire fees for 2025-26 be approved.

 

Watch the debate here

6.

TAXI LICENSING POLICY - SUITABILITY GUIDELINES pdf icon PDF 270 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Administration Team Manager presented the report on the updated Suitability Guidance for taxi and private hire licensing published by the Institute of Licensing which were to be included in the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy as was the original document.

 

Cllr Williams asked how this compared to the previous version of the Guidance.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager responded that most of it was pretty much the same as it was before and the changes were mainly to clarify things for decision makers based on actual cases over a five-year period.

 

Cllr Richards asked if there had been many cases where licensees were taken to court for predatory behaviours and then re-licensed for ten years.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager advised that there hadn’t been any cases brought to the Council. Having these included in the Guidance now meant that if these were to happen there would be a starting point on how to proceed.

 

The Chair wondered what rate of consultation responses was to be expected.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager commented that consultations would often generate either very few responses or a very lot of responses. The rate of these would typically reflect how much of an issue the changes were perceived to bring and people who were not responding were generally happy enough that it wasn’t a concern for them. The consultation would be sent to all license holders as well as other relevant stakeholders such as neighbouring local authorities and the police.

 

Resolved:    1. That the contents of the report be noted; and

 

2. That officers may consult with relevant stakeholders on replacing the current Taxi Licensing Policy Suitability Guidance with Chapter 4 of the updated version, be approved.

 

Watch the debate here

7.

TAX CONDITIONALITY CONSULTATION pdf icon PDF 290 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Administration Team Manager presented the report on a suggested draft response to the HMRC consultation in relation to expanding tax conditionality to new sectors, two of which were administered by the Borough Council.

 

Cllr Brown enquired about consultants working for the Council.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager advised that these were not targeted by this regime.

 

Cllr Richards asked what a pedicab was.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager explained it was a pedal powered vehicle often found in London to carry passengers in seats located at the back.

 

The Chair commented that if these were not licensed, these were not insured which was problematic if someone was getting injured.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager confirmed their use needed to be regulated and a licensing regime would follow.

 

Cllr Hutchison expressed being pleased to see that animal welfare was taken into account.

 

The Licensing Administration Team Manager commented that the Council was requesting that any animal activity subject to licensing or registration would fall under the remit of the regulation.

 

Resolved:    1. That the contents of the report be noted; and

 

2. That the officer proposed consultation response be sent to  the Government prior to the closing date, be agreed.

 

Watch the debate here

8.

URGENT BUSINESS

To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act 1972

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

9.

DISCLOSURE OF EXEMPT INFORMATION

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the attached report, because it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Minutes:

There were no confidential matters discussed.