MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

LICENSING COMMITTEE

 

26 AUGUST 2010

 

REPORT OF HEAD OF DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

 

Report prepared by Anthony Garnett 

 

 

1.           HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER THREE YEAR LICENCE

 

1.1        Issue for Decision

 

1.1.1   To consider whether the current Hackney Carriage and Private Hire driver licence issued by Maidstone Borough Council for one year should be changed to a three year licence and whether all Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) driver licences submitted with applications should be checked against the records held at the (DVLA).

 

1.2        Recommendation of Head of Democratic Services

        

1.2.1   That three year Hackney Carriage and Private Hire driver licences be introduced for all applications and renewals after 1 January 2011 except in the case of drivers over 65 years of age where licences will remain annual.

 

1.2.2   That all applications for driver’s licences after 1 January 2011 will have checks made with the DVLA on the accompanying DVLA drivers licence.

 

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

 

1.3.1   The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s53 (1) (a) states that:-

 

“Every licence granted by a district council under the provisions of this Part of this Act to any person to drive a private hire vehicle shall remain in force for three years from the date of such licence or for such lesser period as the district council may specify in such licence.”

 

1.3.2   The current policy stipulates that all Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driving Licences are valid for one year, and that an enhanced Criminal Record Bureau check after the first issue is undertaken every 4 years.

 

1.3.3   Moving to a three year Drivers licence with a CRB check at each renewal would reduce the costs to an applicant by decreasing overall processing time and improving efficiency. This gives the opportunity to reduce the overall fee by 5%.

 

1.3.4   The Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing: Best Practice Guidance issued by the Department for Transport allows authorities to offer an annual licence, a three year licence, or even both. Administratively it would be very difficult to offer both options so it is suggested that one option only is chosen. However moving to a three year licence will as indicated above reduce costs and give an opportunity to reduce fees.    

 

1.3.5   Drivers who are over the age of 65 will continue to require a yearly driving licence.

 

1.3.6   The current policy does not require any checks to be carried out with the DVLA against a submitted driving licence with an application. By introducing a mandatory check on all driver licences submitted with Hackney Carriage and Private Hire driver applications will ensure that the driving licence accompanying an application is current and valid, and is a true and accurate reflection of a persons record held at the DVLA. This DVLA check has a fee of £5.

 

1.3.7   Currently Maidstone Borough Council licences 132 Hackney Carriage and 381 Private Hire drivers. By moving to a three year licence this will reduce the number of licences that have to be processed over a three year period from around 1,420 to around 480.

 

1.3.8   The cost for driving licences are:

 

Current – one year

	New Application	Renewal	Late renewal	CRB
Private Hire Drivers or Hackney Carriage Driver	£165	£83	£114	£41
Dual Licence	£329	£125	£171	£41

 

 

Proposed – Three year

	New Application	Renewal	Late renewal	CRB
Private Hire Drivers or Hackney Carriage Driver	£314 Note 1	£237 Note 2	£283	£41
Dual Licence	£550 Note 3	£356 Note 4	£402	£41

 

Note 1 – Fee is made up of current New application fee (£165) and two current renewal fees (£83 * 2) with a discount of 5% rounded to the nearest pound.

 

Note 2 – Fee is made up of current Renewal fee (£83 * 3) with a discount of 5% rounded to the nearest pound.

 

Note 3 – Fee is made up of current New application fee (£329) and two current renewal fees (£125 * 2) with a discount of 5% rounded to the nearest pound.

 

Note 4 – Fee is made up of current Renewal fee (£125 * 3) with a discount of 5% rounded to the nearest pound.

 

Late renewal payments will still incur a penalty of either £31 or £46.

 

1.3.9   Once adopted, the revenue from year 1 would be split into three and two thirds would be carried forward to even out the revenue income over three years.

 

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

 

1.4.1   Staying with one year licences would not realise a reduction and efficiency in processing workload as well as an opportunity to reduce fees.

 

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

 

1.5.1   None

 

1.6        Risk Management

 

1.6.1   All drivers licence applicants will undertake a full enhanced CRB and DVLA checks to ensure we have fit and proper persons issued with drivers licences.

 

1.7        Other Implications

 

1.7.1    

1.      Financial	X
2.           Staffing
3.           Legal
4.           Equality Impact Needs Assessment
5.           Environmental/Sustainable Development
6.           Community Safety
7.           Human Rights Act
8.           Procurement
9.           Asset Management

 

 

1.7.2   The financial details are described in the body of the report.

 

1.8        Relevant Documents

 

1.8.1   Appendices

 

1.8.2   None.

 

1.8.3   Background Documents

 

1.8.4   None.

 

IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT? X     Yes                                               No     If yes, when did it first appear in the Forward Plan?   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..     This is a Key Decision because: ………………………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….       Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..