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The Committee considered a report which detailed, for its consideration, the responses received during the consultation period for the draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy (the Policy).
Paul Donaghy, Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager, attended the meeting to present the report and assist the Committee with its enquiries. The responses which had been received to the public consultation in respect of the proposed Policy were before the Committee, including those responses which had been received within the consultation period, but after the agenda had been published. It was recommended that the proposed Policy be amended to Full Council for adoption from 1 January 2026, subject to any changes the Committee deemed necessary. The existing Policy was out of date, and it was therefore necessary to implement a new Policy. The Committee heard that very few responses had been received in respect of the separate consultation which had related to the introduction of mandatory closed-circuit television (CCTV) provision in licensed vehicles, which was likely as a result of the Council’s stance that CTV should be encouraged but not mandated.
Chris Turner attended the meeting and addressed the Committee pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rules 5(1). He had recently sent an email to the Licensing Team raising concerns about public safety issued caused by licensed vehicles seen driving while displaying no door signs or front plates. He had reported similar concerns in the past but was not aware that any action had been taken. Door signs were there to protect the public, but Mr Turner believed that over the last few years lots of drivers had been observed flouting the rules by not displaying door signs. He had reported these issues to the Licensing Team and although some had been dealt with, Council Officers had asked him to provide full statements which he did not consider relevant as vehicles were still driving without the necessary signage. How would the Council implement the new Policy when it appeared that the current Policy was not being stringently enforced?
By way of response, the Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager acknowledged that staff resource pressures meant that there may have been less opportunities for enforcement action than his team would have liked due to the vast number of enquiries that the team was required to deal with. It was, however, intended that in the future a model of working which focussed more on enforcement would be adopted which focused on the most important cases. Officers had carried out enforcement checks that afternoon, and a number of enforcement actions against vehicles and drivers would follow as a result of this. Information received from the licensed trade was vitally important, and the reason that statements were necessary was to support any further action which may be required. Concerns raised were taken very seriously and it was intended to carry out more enforcement in the future.
In relation to the proposed move towards the use of door stickers on licenced vehicles, Sarah White, Licensing Team Leader, advised that it was intended that vehicles would be required to use stickers, however, existing signage which was in place would continue to be recognised. Vehicles found to be operating without the correct signage would be required to apply stickers to prevent signage being removed.
The Committee considered the signage which was displayed by vehicles which were licensed by other authorities such as Wolverhampton, and noted that these vehicles would not be governed by the Policy of Colchester City Council. Although it had been suggested that some other local authorities had been authorised to enforce against vehicles licensed elsewhere, the Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager had not been approached in this regard. The Chair of the Committee had written to the Home Secretary to request that national policy was implemented to address cross-border licensing issues.
A Committee member had been delighted to see that so many responses had been received to the Policy consultation, which demonstrated that interest in the licensed trade was high. It was the role of the Committee to ensure the security and safety of members of the public using licensed vehicles, and although it would work with the trade wherever possible, its regulatory function had to be preserved. It was noted that the responses in relation to the requirement for daily vehicle inspections had been negative. Although the introduction of mandatory CCTV in licensed vehicles would receive his support, there was little point in taking this step at the current time in the light of imminent local government reorganisation, and the installation of CCTV should be encouraged but voluntary.
The Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager confirmed that Officers had listened carefully to the consultation responses which had been received and considered that the potential to require daily vehicle inspections would, in practice, be unfeasible and require an onerous amount of paperwork. Each driver had a continuing duty and responsibility to secure the safety of the public and there was a wide variety of road traffic legislation already in place to regulate the safe use of vehicles, and accordingly the recommendation to the Committee was not to implement the requirement for vehicles checks. With regard to CCTV in licensed vehicles, it was intended that this was to be encouraged and the trade would be advised on how to adhere to the regulations which were required by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Necessary guidance would be made available on the Council’s website so that any proprietor who had installed, or who wished to install CCTV, could make certain that they were using it correctly.
In response to questions from the Committee, the Licensing Team Leader explained that the Council’s licensing website was in the process of being rebuilt, and links to disability awareness training would be provided on the website in due course, and additionally consideration was currently being given to making a Council provided safeguarding course available. The Committee heard that passenger assisted transport training related to the safe carriage of a wheelchair user in a licensed vehicle, and a driver of a wheelchair accessible vehicle would be expected to have undertaken this training. In respect of concerns which had been raised in some consultation responses relating to school contracts for licensed vehicles to carry children with special education needs, the Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager confirmed that these contracts were regulated by Essex County Council who liaised directly with operators and drivers in respect of issues without involving local licensing authorities.
In discussion, the Committee sought clarification on the position with vehicles which had tinted windows which did not meet the proposed Policy requirements. The Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager had been mindful that some vehicles had been purchased with tinted windows which may not meet the proposed requirements, and it was not intended that proprietors be required to have these tints removed. The Policy would contain an exemption for those vehicles which were already licensed and non-compliant, however, any vehicle presented for licensing as a new vehicle, or which had been the subject of a change of ownership would be required to be fully compliant with the Policy.
The Licensing, Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager confirmed to the Committee that work was underway to identify additional garages which would be available to carry out the required vehicle inspections, as currently only a single garage was authorised to do this work. Additional improvements to the system were also sought, such as the ability to book appointments online and pay the garages direct for inspections, however, implementing changes would be the result of a complex process.
Following questioning from the Committee, the Licensing Team Leader assured the Committee that completion of mandatory training of licensed drivers was a requirement of either a new or renewal application, and that no licences would be issued until the required training had been completed.
RECOMMENDED to Full Council that:
- the draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy be adopted and implemented from 1 January 2026.