Issue - meetings

To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection (copy enclosed) regarding the development of a draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Policy to better regulate and support the hackney carriage and private hire regime in the county.

RESOLVED that –

(a)       the contents of the report be noted, and

(b)       officers be instructed to start work on a draft policy taking into account members’ views and any developments from the Welsh Government process, and authorise Denbighshire’s consultation with interested parties, and report back to a future meeting of the committee.

The Licensing Officer (NJ) submitted a report (previously circulated) regarding the development of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Policy to better regulate and support the hackney carriage and private hire regime in the county.

Whilst drivers were subject to various checks to assess their suitability there was currently no written policy and officers sought members’ views on the regime and specific areas for improvement as detailed within the report.  Members’ attention was also drawn to the Welsh Government consultation document (attached to the report) on the reform of taxi legislation which could impact on future regulation and would be taken into account when developing the policy.

Members considered the report and discussed the potential areas of improvement as follows –

Medicals – there was general support to move to the Group 2 Standards of Medical Fitness as applied by the DVLA to HGV and bus drivers.  Officers confirmed that drivers were required to inform the licensing authority of changes in medical history and this element would be written into the new policy.

Qualification – there was currently no qualification for licensed drivers and members welcomed the introduction of a suitable qualification for new applicants which could also be used as an additional enforcement tool for any taxi licensing breaches in order to raise standards and improve behaviour.  Officers advised of nationally recognised qualifications covering areas such as customer service and driving standards which were utilised by other local authorities.  Members asked that officers undertake further research into potential course options and cost implications, including those courses utilised by other local authorities.  It was confirmed that the cost of the course would be met by the individual and not the licensing authority.

Age and Driving Experience – members discussed the possibility of introducing a minimum age restriction to ensure applicants had appropriate experience and knowledge of driving but were also careful to consider age discrimination and the Equality Act.  The committee agreed that driving experience was an important criteria which must be demonstrated by all applicants.

In addition to the above members discussed with officers whether more could be done to ensure drivers declared motoring convictions both to the licensing authority and insurance companies, particularly given the implications for non-disclosure.  It was agreed that the application forms be reviewed to assess whether this aspect could be further highlighted and made clearer to applicants and officers also confirmed that an additional reference could be included on the form asking applicants to declare that they had notified their insurance company of relevant motoring convictions.  Stronger warnings about the non-disclosure of convictions could also be included in the Driver Conviction Policy.   Officers provided assurances that proactive steps were being taken to address the issue and discussions were ongoing with the Police with a view to sharing information about driver convictions.

RESOLVED that –

(a)       the contents of the report be noted, and

(b)       officers be instructed to start work on a draft policy taking into account members’ views as detailed above and any developments from the Welsh Government process, and authorise Denbighshire’s consultation with interested parties, and report back to a future meeting of the committee.