Councillor Armstrong  )

Councillor Johnson  )  personal

Councillor Wildgust  )

If you need advice on declaring an interest, please contact the Governance Officer above, if possible before the day of the meeting

Councillor Ali declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in agenda item 4, ‘Amendment to scale of charges for drivers and to ancillary charges, and implementation of annual Disclosure and Barring checks for drivers’, as he is employed by a taxi hire company although he did not  hold a licence of the type being discussed. He withdrew from the meeting while the item was discussed and did not vote on the item.

Last meeting held on 22 September 2015 (for confirmation)

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2015 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Mrs Rawson presented a report of the Director of Community Protection regarding:

·  proposed changes to the fee structure and length of Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Drivers’ licences and Private Hire Operators’ licences, to take into account the impact of the De-regulation Act 2015;

·  an amendment to ancillary charges;

·  a proposed requirement for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to be carried out annually, rather than tri-annually as at present.

RESOLVED to approve

(1)  in relation to Operators’ licences:

a)  1 year grant   £1,267 (plus £21 per vehicle)

5 year grant  £1,340 (plus £21 per vehicle)

1 year renewal  £1,213 (plus £21 per vehicle)

5 year renewal  £1,275 (plus £21 per vehicle)

(1 year grant and renewal will be in exceptional circumstances only)

b)  delegated authority to the Director of Community Protection to advertise the Operator’s licence fees in accordance with statutory requirements;

c)  in the event that there are outstanding objections, delegated authority to the Director of Community Protection, in consultation with the Chair, Vice Chair and Opposition spokesperson, to consider the objections and make all final decisions on the proposed fee structure and the date for its implementation;

(2)  in relation to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers’ licences, that, the following charges will apply (exclusive of additional charges, such as DBS / DVLA / medical etc) with effect from 1 January 2016:

  1 year (exceptional circumstances only)  £148.00

  3 year  £260.00

(3)  the following increased ancillary charges be brought into effect on 1 January 2016:

  Topography test  £50.00

  Replacement / copy badge / licence  £10.50

  Safeguarding Awareness (initial applicants only)  £28.00

(4)  Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks be made on an annual basis the cost of which is to be met by the applicant.