Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Resources highlighting some of the key areas of the work of the Taxi  &Private Hire Licensing Section and informing Members of the operational activity; administrative decisions and outcomes during the preceding 12 months.

(Report attached)

The Head of Licensing and Registration submitted a report on operational and administrative activity undertaken by the LCC Taxi and Private Hire Licensing (TPHL) Section between October 2010 and October 2011. The report outlined key areas of work and was presented for Members information.

The Section Head, Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Office attended the meeting to present the information contained within the report and highlighted the following issues for Members particular attention:

Vehicles – statistics showed that drivers and operators were making use of the age criteria exemption, as more applications were being made and approved for vehicles over the 7 year age criteria limit. Members noted the success of the scheme aimed at improving the overall safety of vehicles by encouraging drivers/operators to properly maintain the fleet.

Staffing and resources – a copy of the staffing structure was included within the report along with statistics showing the number of applications/renewals/enquiries and actions dealt with by TPHL. A number of posts were vacant and were being pursued through the appropriate recruitment process. Implementation of a new ICT system will improve administration time and reduce the number of trade customers who visited the offices in person. Additionally, consideration was being given to the introduction of a new “3 year licence” for drivers where appropriate.

Delegated Decisions - Appendix B set out the decisions taken in line with LCC policies relating to the conditions and applications for new licences or renewals. Statistical data was presented showing a breakdown of the types of action taken by officers in line with the policies and further detail was provided on the following:

·  Revocations – decisions made by officers were taken in line with the policy focussing on public safety

·  Remedial training – such as refresher courses where appropriate for drivers who had been referred on receipt of complaints.

·  Enforcement – action taken in respect of vehicle defects or after receipt of notification of police action involving a driver. Legislation regarded being a Hackney Carriage (HC) or Private Hire (PH) drivers as being in a position of trust and it was therefore a notifiable occupation.

·  Public complaints – the number and nature of complaints and the measures LCC could employ to address the issues raised.

·  Offences – Officers reiterated that conviction of an offence did not automatically result in the revocation of a licence but LCC policy required action to be taken where public safety was put at risk

The Committee noted the information provided and went onto comment and discuss the following issues:

-  the work undertaken to identify vehicle defects, such as defective tyres

-  the number of vehicles being granted an exception to the 7 year age criteria rule (68 out of 114 applications).

-  the number of prosecutions undertaken and the number of those that were of drivers from outside Leeds (52 out of 96)

-  the number of customers dealt with by the licensing officer counter staff (approximately 13,000 by 3 to 5 staff)

-  the liaison undertaken with other neighbouring authorities to seek a consistent approach; noting that some of Leeds’ policies had been adopted by other authorities and as examples of good practice

-  the approach taken by the Courts.

One Member raised a number of his concerns relating to:

·  the length of time of suspensions and the financial impact this had on the drivers

·  figures on training and the ethnicity of drivers which he felt would be particularly useful when dealing with complaints against drivers

·  the NVQ Working Group and lack of information on the progress of that group;

·  the policy review consultation documents

The Committee noted that the TPHL Equality Impact Assessment had been despatched to all Members of the Committee previously and the consultation documents had also been formally considered by the Committee. 

Officers reiterated that legislation prevented a local authority from considering hardship when dealing with suspensions and revocations. On receipt of a complaint; TPHL was duty bound to investigate the matter and suspension of a driver or vehicle may be necessary for reasons of public safety even if that period was extensive whilst a criminal case was pursued.

Members further discussed:

-  whether wheelchair accessible PH vehicles required a specific livery, noting that an application had been granted for such a vehicle to be painted “anthracite” . Officers responded that the authority had sought to ensure differentiation between HC and PH vehicles, however it was possible for the PH trade to make an application for any type or colour of vehicle to be licensed and there were no grounds by which LCC could substantiate refusal of that application.

-  whether TPHL staff liaised with WYP when defects were found on vehicles. Officers responded that LCC officers did not have authority to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for vehicle defects but pursued prosecutions under the Local Government Act 1972.

-  noted a comment acknowledging the number of complaints was small but supported officers in their commitment to deal with the complaints in order to ensure public safety

-  Moving on, officers described a “traffic light system” approach to the trade and stated that most of the drivers were excellent drivers with no complaints received – these were described as the “green” group. The smaller “amber” group included those drivers who may need to retrain or maintain their vehicles better. The “red” group contained a number of drivers who were perpetually investigated for their behaviour and/or their vehicle.

-  Officers outlined consideration of the introduction of three year licences where applicable – some drivers required stronger management than others, those which were only seen once a year at renewal could be eligible for a three year licence rather than the current annual renewal – these drivers would be on “green”, but those drivers with 9 points or more are those the authority would want to keep a check on and could still require an annual renewal of their licence. 

The Committee generally noted that responsibility for the upkeep, maintenance and safety of vehicles lay with the trade and acknowledged the work done through education, training and promotion by TPHL to advise the trade of non-compliance with the Policies and Conditions. The Chair referred to the Licensing Newsletter issued twice a year to all drivers which provided the trade with relevant information and advice on the policies and the role of trade forum meetings and unions in keeping their members informed.

(Councillor Townsley withdrew from the meeting at this point)

  The Section Head, TPHL, reminded Members of the availability of training on taxi and private hire issues and extended an invitation to visit the Torre Road offices. Members were also invited to attend a late night site visit to view the work of the enforcement team and consider relevant late night economy issues.

RESOLVED –

a)  that the contents of the report be noted