Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Coates, Hinder and Naghi.

There were no Substitute Members.

There were no urgent items.

There were no Visiting Members.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That all items on the agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed.

There were no questions from Local Residents.

There were no questions from Members to the Chairman.

The Head of the Licensing Partnership introduced the item and stated that the responsibility for issuing Pavement Licenses for tables and chairs had originally been temporarily delegated to borough council authorities during the pandemic. This responsibility was later permanently delegated to borough councils as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and that the Council needed to update its Pavement Licence Policy to reflect the legislation change. The fees set by the Council for Pavement Licences would also be updated to reflect the increase in the statutory charge.

The Committee felt that the proposed Pavement Licensing policy and increased fees were justified and necessary to ensure that the policy continued.

RESOLVED: That

1.  The proposed Pavement Licensing Policy (drafted to take into account recent changes to legislation) be adopted to take effect upon commencement of Schedule 22 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

2.  The proposed fees to applications set out in Appendix B, to take effect upon commencement of Schedule 22 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, be approved.

Note: Councillor Parfitt-Reid joined the meeting during consideration of this item.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report and stated that a consultation on two proposed changes to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy had been completed in November. The proposed changes included the permanent amendment to entry level vehicles of up to four years old and mileage up to 60,000 miles to be licensed and for private hire vehicles to be licensed until 8 years old and for hackney carriage vehicle providers to be required to offer card and contactless payments at all times. It was highlighted that the proposed amendments had been well received by the Taxi trade and that the policy would run until February 2029.

The need for the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing policy to come into effect on 11 January 2024 and that the proposed requirement for Hackney Carriage drivers to provide card machines was to be implemented as from 15 February 2024 was clarified.

It was stated that the deadline for Hackney Carriage drivers to provide card and contactless payment machines from 15 February 2024 allowed hackney carriage providers sufficient time to obtain a viable machine. Some exceptions to the deadline could be made to hackney carriage providers under extenuating circumstances.

The Committee welcomed the report and highlighted the requirement for Hackney Carriage drivers to provide card and contactless payment machines.

RESOLVED: That

1.  The information contained in the taxi policy consultation – card payment and vehicle age document attached as Appendix 1, be noted.

2.  The draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy at Appendix 2 be approved for adoption.

3.  The amendment concerning vehicle age and mileage be immediate, with the mandatory requirement to provide the new payment facility to be implemented from 15 February 2024.

6.30 p.m. to 6.56 p.m.