Minutes:
Potential Policy Change
The Licensing Manager wished to bring to Members’ attention
a formal request received from a large private hire operator in relation to
potentially streamlining requirements and processes for new private hire
vehicle applicants.
It was explained that, since the start of the Covid
pandemic, there was a national shortage of private hire vehicle drivers as many
had left the trade to take up other occupations and had not returned. This had resulted in customers waiting longer
for taxis and a subsequent increase in complaints regarding taxi
availability. It had also resulted in
many private hire vehicle operators having large numbers of vehicles not being
driven.
The request from the taxi Company for the Council’s
consideration was to:-
1.
Abolish the topographical section of the
knowledge test (in line with Newcastle, North Tyneside, Sunderland,
Wolverhampton and other local authorities across the country).
2.
Consider delivering comprehensive training to
help applicants achieve the knowledge required to pass all other sections of
the test.
3.
Abolish the requirement for the independent
driving assessment as the Council had the ability to refer a driver for
training should they consider it necessary.
The Licensing Manager highlighted that the topographical
part of the knowledge test was abolished in Sunderland recently without public
consultation and that some local authorities had only removed that part of the
knowledge test for private hire drivers as private hire operators now tended to
have sophisticated booking systems with Sat Nav which was not always the case
for Hackney Carriages.
In relation to considering delivery of bespoke training for
applicants, it was explained that driver testing was previously delivered by
Officers and undertaken face to face, however, this testing had moved on-line
in Middlesbrough some time ago.
The independent driver assessments were previously delivered
by the Driver Standards Agency who delivered a bespoke driver test across the
Tees Valley Local Authorities up until four years ago when the Government
abolished the test without consultation.
From that point the Tees Valley Local Authorities decided to keep the
test which was delivered by Hartlepool Council Road Safety Team on behalf of
the Tees Valley authorities. Those
authorities that did not maintain the independent test tightened up on the
rules around the number of penalty points a driver was able to accrue before
being required to complete a Driver Improvement Scheme.
Should a decision be made to abolish the independent driver
assessment, Officers would propose that any driver accruing six penalty points
on their licence should be required to undertake the driver improvement scheme
and that any driver accruing seven to nine points should expect their licence
to be revoked.
Officers had been working on reviewing the current Taxi
Licensing Policy as a result of new National Minimum Standards being introduced
and this was open to a full consultation process across all local
authorities. Middlesbrough was also
proposing amendments in two areas of the Policy – Proposed Changes to Vehicle
Age Policy and Proposed Changes to Window Tint Policy.
Following a lengthy discussion in relation to all of the
issues raised, the Council’s legal representative summarised that:-
·
The full Taxi Licensing Policy was currently
being reviewed due to National Minimum Standards intended to uplift safety and
this was required to be subject to a full consultation process.
·
The Committee needed to provide a view as to
whether the three proposals referred to during the meeting should also be
subject to a full consultation or whether they should be subject to a short
consultation.
In response to a suggestion that a Members’ briefing be
arranged to advise all Members of the proposals, it was confirmed that all
Members were consulted on changes to the Licensing Policy as a matter of
course.
ORDERED as
follows:-
1.
That relevant Officers from Legal Services and
Licensing consider the three proposals raised and that the proposals be subject
to a short consultation period.
2. That relevant Officers from Legal Services and Licensing determine who should be consulted on the proposals and to update the Chair of the Licensing Committee.