MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

LICENSING COMMITTEE

29 JANUARY 2015

REPORT OF HEAD OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Report prepared by Lorraine Neale    

1.           Draft Hackney and Private Hire Policy

1.1        Issue for Decision

1.1.1 The council has a number of separate policies, guidance notes and conditions relating to hackney carriage and private hire licensed vehicles, drivers and operators but there is no single document that can be     referred to as the 'taxi licensing policy'. Such a policy would act as a consolidating document to bring the existing policies, guidance notes and conditions together taking into account updates in legislation and national policy.

1.2        Recommendation of Head of Housing and Community Services

1.2.1   That the Licensing Committee approves the draft Taxi Licensing Policy for consultation and the Head of Housing and Community Services reports the responses back to the Licensing Committee in 2015 together with the final draft policy.

1.3        Background

1.3.1 Maidstone Borough Council has responsibility for the licensing of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, drivers and operators. The aim of licensing the hackney carriage and private hire vehicle trades is primarily to protect the public, providing confidence that vehicles advertising as taxi or private hire are properly checked and fit for purpose; and the drivers have been vetted in accordance with national good practice.

1.3.2 The Council currently has a number of documents that combine to make up a suit of policies based on decisions that have been made by Licensing Committee over the years. It has been the intention to consolidate these decisions in to one policy but this had been delayed as the Law Commission had been asked by government to provide advice on a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation.

1.3.3 The Law Commission had revealed that it was intending to make significant changes to the current statutory framework and it was felt prudent to wait until this had been developed before proposing changes to our own policy that would later need amending. In the event the Law Commission has not recommended as wide ranging changes as originally indicated. In addition the government has not set aside time to bring about legislative changes. In this vacuum there is no benefit from delaying the Maidstone policy further. However, the draft Maidstone policy does reflect the Law Commission’s direction of travel and should therefore remain relevant should a new government post May 2015 want to implement the Law Commission’s recommendations.

1.3.4 A brief outline of some of the Law Commission’s proposals is set out below:-

•        Taxi and private hire licensing will remain a local authority (and TfL in London) function, referred to as the licensing authority. There will be an initial internal appeal process against refusals etc, followed by appeals to the Magistrates’ Court. There will also be a “Judicial Review Lite” mechanism to challenge policy in the County Court. In addition there will be new powers for licensing authorities to create and modify taxi zones.

•        The 2 tier system (to be called taxis and private hire vehicles,PHVs ) will be retained with taxis able to take “there and then” hiring and PHVs will be prohibited from anything other than carrying pre booked fares.

•        PHV dispatchers (those who send the vehicle and driver) will be required to be licensed but those who advertise and accept the bookings will not.

•        Private hire drivers and vehicles licensed by any local authority will be able to work for any private hire dispatcher.

•        There will be a national minimum standard for PHVs and taxis (to be achieved through regulations) with the possibility of higher or additional standards for taxis to be set locally. In addition there will be basic national standards for drivers and dispatchers.

•        Quantity restrictions (a limit decided by the local authorities for the number of Hackney Plates issued) will remain possible based on the public interest test (as opposed to unmet demand) but the sale of plates will be allowed in existing limited areas.

•        There will be a duty to “stop when hailed” placed upon taxi drivers if this requirement is applied by the licensing authority.

•        Licensing authority offices will have the power to stop and inspect vehicles and issue fixed penalty notices, irrespective of which local authority the vehicle is licensed with.

1.3.4 A comprehensive taxi licensing policy will inform the taxi trade and service users in understanding the key provision of the service and how the policy will be enforced. It would also act as guidance for staff both within the council and across the Licensing Partnership in order to assist with processing applications and other administration matters. Having a consolidated policy will also make the process of making future updates more straightforward, as only one document would require amending.

1.3.5 It is proposed to have a 12 week period for consultation on the draft new policy, which will be undertaken in accordance with HM Governments’ Code of Practice on consultation. This will be undertaken through a variety of means including letters/questionnaires to representative bodies of the trade and service users; other stakeholders e.g. statutory bodies; through the Taxi Association Representative and on our website.

1.3.6 Once the consultation process is completed, then a summary of the representations and comments received will be reported to a future Licensing Committee meeting together with a finalized draft Taxi and Private Hire Policywhich will be presented for adoption by the Licensing Committee. This is anticipated to be completed by the early summer of 2015.

1.3.7  Summary of changes

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

1.4.1 The council could choose to retain its current policies but to do so would be to keep aging and incomplete policies that would quickly become open to challenge. Best practice suggests that having an up to date policy provides the most appropriate framework for ensuring a safe and effective service. Therefore keeping the existing system is not a course of action that is recommended.

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives 

1.5.1 A comprehensive Taxi policy will improve the consistency in delivering the service and will better inform applicants and operators of the licensing process in an open and transparent way. This will contribute towards providing a better customer service.

1.6        Risk Management  

1.6.1   A clear and up to date Taxi policy will help to minimise the risk of challenges to the council from drivers and operators.

1.7        Other Implications

1.8        Relevant Documents

1.8.1   Appendices

1.8.2   Appendix A  - Draft Taxi Licensing Policy (Working Discussion Document)

1.8.3   Background Documents

N/A