Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection (copy enclosed) seeking members’ review of the current process for nominating approved testing stations to carry out compliance testing for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles within the county.

RESOLVED to look at in-house testing as a preferred option subject to further review and consultation with all relevant parties.

The Licensing Officer submitted a report (previously circulated) seeking members’ review of the current process for nominating approved testing stations to carry out compliance testing for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles in the county.

Denbighshire had 8 nominated testing stations in the county, 5 in the North (including the Council’s Fleet Management Centre in Bodelwyddan) and 3 in the South which Fleet Services approved on an annual basis.  Officers explained the reasoning behind the review given concerns that the variation in the cost of fees charged by individual garages for compliance testing and competitive pricing could be linked to a reduction in the quality of testing together with concerns that the standardised process approved for licensed testing stations was not being fully adhered to resulting in a disparity in the standard of testing carried out.  There was also some concern regarding the number and frequency of tests carried out by particular garages resulting in a lack of consistency throughout the current testing process.  Consequently officers had considered a number of options to address those issues and the advantages and disadvantages of each had been detailed within the report.

The following options had been put forward for review –

·         no change to the current authorised testing stations

·         inviting expressions of interest from MOT garages to a specific Service Level Agreement

·         reducing the number of authorised testing stations in the county

·         move over to in-house compliance testing.

With regard to practice in neighbouring authorities officers advised that two other North Wales local authorities carried out solely in-house testing as did eleven of the twenty-two local authorities in Wales.  Officers recommended in-house testing as a preferred option subject to further review and consultation.  If members did not support in-house testing a review of the current process was recommended.

Members considered the merits of the options put forward with a view to providing a greater level of consistency and ensuring further improvement in the quality of testing and vehicle standards.  Some concern was also expressed that the current regime allowed for a taxi company who owned a nominated testing station to undertake testing on their own vehicles which was considered a conflict of interest.  The option of in-house testing would address that issue and ensure independent and consistent testing to a specific standard.

Questions were raised regarding the current process together with the practicalities of an in-house approach and capacity issues.  In response the Fleet Performance Manager provided some background to the current situation advising that Denbighshire had adopted the process for nominating testing stations of former authorities following local government reorganisation in 1996. Given the need to improve standards and consistency and that the overriding consideration was for public safety it was considered that an in-house approach represented the best option.  There was capacity within Fleet Services to take on the authorised testing of all licensed vehicles within the county at the Fleet Management Centre in Bodelwyddan which currently carried out approximately 30 – 40% of all compliance testing with approximately 80% of all licensed vehicles located in the North of the county.  The Fleet Management Centre operated an appointment booking system and remained open until 9.00 p.m.  There would be no financial benefit to Fleet Services as a result of a move to in-house testing given that the compliance test took some time and was not considered profitable.  Councillor Joan Butterfield queried the potential impact on deprivation and whether any jobs would be lost from existing nominated testing stations as a result of a move to in-house testing.  Assurances were provided that the loss to nominated testing stations related solely to compliance testing and the fee for that test which was carried out twice a year on licensed vehicles – maintenance regimes and repair work would not be affected and all other work opportunities would remain for those garages.

The Licensing Committee agreed that confidence could be gained from an in-house approach which would provide a consistently high level of vehicle standards for the benefit of the travelling public and ensuring public safety.  Having reviewed the options appraisal members were supportive of an in-house approach subject to further review and consultation and it was subsequently –

RESOLVED to look at in-house testing as a preferred option subject to further review and consultation with all relevant parties.