Agenda for Regulatory and Appeals Committee on Monday, 16th December, 2019, 10.00 am

Agenda and minutes

Venue: LB 31-32 - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Kate Morris  Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

5.

Apologies

Minutes:

Councillor Cheryl Barnard – Council Business

6.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None

7.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 236 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2019

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2019 were agreed as a correct record and were signed by the Chair.

8.

Private Hire Driving Licenses - Additional Conditions pdf icon PDF 226 KB

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Lorraine Raynor, Chief Environmental Health Officer, introduced the report proposing additional conditions to be imposed upon the grant of any new Private Hire Drivers Licence or renewal of an existing Private Hire Driver’s Licence where a driver wished to work for more than one operator. A voluntary undertaking was also proposed for those drivers who wished to work for more than one operator during the currency of their existing drivers licence.

 

An amended appendix 1 was tabled at the meeting and is appended to the minutes. She highlighted the following points:

 

(a)  Private Hire drivers have approached Nottingham City Council about working for more than one operator. Although this is allowed it has not historically been encouraged by the Licencing authority for safeguarding reasons;

 

(b)  The proposed additional conditions will ensure that safeguarding processes remain robust but will also allow drivers more flexibility to choose which operator they work for as the market fluctuates;

 

(c)  The proposed additional conditions can be imposed on new and renewed licences. Existing licence holders will be requested  to sign a voluntary undertaking to abide by the additional conditions as outlined in the amended Appendix 1  until such a time as they can be legally imposed at renewal;

 

The Chair indicated that he had been sent a late submission from A2Z Licencing acting on behalf of DG Cars which was available for the committee to review. This document had been submitted on Saturday two days prior to the meeting. The Chair summarised the issues raised in the document, most of which he felt were addressed by the report published with the agenda other than the issue relating to potential Sate Aid.

 

The Chair proposed that an indicative vote be taken to show support for the recommendations in principle but that a final decision be deferred to a subsequent meeting to enable advice on State Aide to be provided.

 

A discussion followed around whether the report should be deferred to also enable consultation with the taxi trade. It was reported that the request to work for more than one operator had come from the trade itself and had already been subject of discussion with them.

 

By way of an indicative vote the committee agreed that they were minded to support the report subject to legal advice around the issue of State Aid.

 

RESOLVED to defer final consideration of the report to a subsequent meeting to enable advice to be provided on the issue of State Aid and other matters raised in representation submitted by A2Z Licencing.

 

Councillor Roger Steel asked that his abstention from voting be recorded.

 

9.

Hackney Carriage Specification - Additional Vehicle. pdf icon PDF 315 KB

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Lorraine Raynor, Chief Environmental Health Officer, introduced the report asking the Committee to consider the request to amend the Nottingham City Council Hackney Carriage vehicle requirements to include an LEVC Icon vehicle. She highlighted the following points:

 

(a)  Due to the newness of the vehicle it does not yet hold London Public Carriage Office approval, however it is wheelchair accessible and can be converted so as to be otherwise consistent with the Council’s vehicle specifications. A departure from the Council’s existing policy of requiring London Public Carriage Office approval could therefore be justified. Licensing this vehicle will enhance the range of electric vehicles available to proprietors and will help in delivering the Council’s hackney carriage strategy and polices;

 

(b)  This vehicle is a more affordable version of the TX electric taxi which is already included within the Nottingham City Council Hackney Carriage vehicle specifications. Its inclusion will give greater choice to drivers, it will also contribute to improved air quality and public safety;

 

The Chair informed the Committee that there had been a request for documents to be considered and for a member of the public to speak on this item. He advised the Committee that the documents did not appear to be relevant to the item being considered and that he was not minded to allow public participation in the Committee meeting.

 

The Chair suggested that a briefing be arranged on the Council’s Hackney Carriage Strategy to assist new members of the committee to understand and be able to apply the Council’s existing strategies and policies.

 

RESOLVED to amend the Council’s current Hackney Carriage Vehicle specification at paragraph 1.7 of the Supplementary Testing Manual to include the London EV Company TX Icon (black) but only where the vehicle has a first date of registration no earlier that the date of this meeting.

 

Councillor Roger Steel asked that his abstention from voting be recorded.