108
Sarah White, Senior Licensing Officer attended to present the report and assist the
Committee with their enquiries. The Committee were reminded that they had approved
changes to the Councils Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, subject
to a consultation, which had been carried out between 18 May 2020 and 31 July. No
responses had been received to this consultation, and the Committee were therefore
requested to approve the changes and recommend that these be presented to Full
Council for adoption. The key changes that had been made to the policy were
highlighted, including a new requirement that hackney carriage proprietors obtain a
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate in line with new guidance from the
Department for Transport. A requirement had also been introduced to ensure that the
Council was notified when a licensed vehicle was sold to another proprietor for
continued use as a licensed vehicle. In addition to these changes, non-British drivers
now had to obtain a counterpart licence from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA) to enable driving convictions obtained in the United Kingdom to be checked.
In response to an enquiry from Councillor Maclean, Sarah White confirmed that the
change made that required hackney carriage proprietors have to obtain a DBS
certificate now meant that the policy was uniform in this regard and that proprietors,
private hire operators and drivers now all had to produce this document.
The Committee registered their approval of the proposed changes, which they
considered to be reasonable and sensible, allowing a greater level of checks to be
carried out on licence holders.
RESOLVED: that the following amendments be made to the Council’s Hackney
Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy and the amended Policy be proposed to
Council for formal adoption;
Hackney Carriage Proprietors’ Suitability
5.3 The application process to be amended to require hackney carriage proprietors,
including joint owners, to provide the following information, in addition to the
information already provided in relation to the vehicle being licensed –
? A current Passport or Birth Certificate
? Evidence that they may legally work in the UK*
* Please note - If circumstances come to light during the
lifetime of the licence that they no longer have a right to work
in the UK, the licence will be revoked.
? A basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check accompanied by a
list of all previous convictions and any other relevant material
information. The disclosure must be less than three months old
when the application is made. Thereafter a DBS must be
submitted every year. If they are also a licensed driver with the
Council this requirement would not apply.
? Proof of completion of safeguarding training.
5.4 The following test be included at Paragraph 2.3 of the Policy and used when
deciding the suitability of an individual –
“Would I be comfortable allowing this person to have control of a licensed vehicle
that can travel anywhere, at any time of the day or night without arising suspicion
and be satisfied that he/she would not allow it to be used for criminal or other
unacceptable purposes and be confident that he/she would maintain it to an
acceptable standard throughout the period of the licence.”
5.5 The minimum age for vehicle proprietors be set at 18 years or over.
Use of Meters
5.6 To add to Paragraph 8 of the Annex on hackney carriage vehicles and
Paragraph 8 on the Annex on private hire vehicles that the meter must be turned
on at the start of every journey.