Agenda and minutes

Licensing & Regulation Committee - Thursday, 21st February, 2019 6.30 pm

Venue: Walton Suite, Guildhall, Winchester

Contact: Claire Buchanan, Senior Democratic Services Officer Tel: 01962 848438 email: cbuchanan@winchester.gov.uk

Items
No.	Item
1.	Minutes PDF 67 KB Minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 January 2019. Minutes: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the additional meeting of the Committee, held on 29 January 2019, be approved and adopted.
2.	Public Participation To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on issues relating to the responsibility of this Committee. Minutes: At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillors Horrill and Porter addressed the Committee during consideration of Item 3 and their comments are summarised in the relevant item below.
3.	Presentation - Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy Minutes: (Presentation and Oral Update) The Chairman announced that she had agreed for a supplementary agenda to be issued in respect of this presentation, due to its urgent consideration by the Committee Prior to the presentation, the Licensing Manager provided an update on the case in the press recently regarding a Private Hire Driver, Mr Ferham Khan, who had been jailed for the rape of a female passenger that he had picked up from the Broadway, Winchester on 30 September 2017. The Licensing Manager clarified that the driver and the vehicle were licensed by the City of Wolverhampton Council and that the driver was working for Wessex Cars at the time of the offence and was not licensed by Winchester City Council. It was noted that the Leader had previously written to the City of Wolverhampton Council (and also copied to Steve Brine, MP) regarding private hire vehicles licensed in their area which were operating in Winchester and other areas and recognised that this practice was currently permitted under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 . In addition, the Licensing Manager provided assurance to the Committee that, despite a review of the Policy, the existing Policy did not put the public at risk in any way and this point of safety was stressed. In response to Member’s questions, the Licensing Manager confirmed that the current legislation allowed for a Private Hire Driver to be licensed by another authority and to work for another operator while working in the Winchester district. The Government were looking to introduce minimum standards nationally and the Council have been supportive of this change for many years. In respect of questions regarding Uber, it was noted that a licence to operate in Winchester was required and that Uber do not have an operator licence to do so. A paper had been circulated to the Committee which set out an update for February 2019 as part of the Department for Transport Task and Finish Group final recommendations to Government to lobby for a change in legislation. The Committee received a presentation from the Council’s Licensing Team which set out the proposals for the Council’s new Taxi Licensing Policy following discussions at the previous meeting held on 29 January 2019. It was noted that there were many matters expected to improve and enhance the taxi regime to raise the standard in Winchester. The presentation focussed on the specific improvements the Council were proposing to adopt in order to achieve this vision, locally known as ‘Tip Top Taxis’, this included improvements to vehicles and changes for drivers/operators which the Committee considered in detail. The Committee were informed that mandatory safeguarding training was in progress which all drivers were required to attend. Wheelchair safety training would be recommended moving forward for a small fee and Driver Forum meetings were held on a regular basis to ensure all were involved in the changes coming forward with the submission of ideas for consideration. Furthermore, officers were liaising with other local authorities that ... view the full minutes text for item 3.
4.	Review of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 - update following consultation (LR517) PDF 100 KB Additional documents: LR517 Appendix 1 , item 4. PDF 306 KB LR517 Appendix 2 , item 4. PDF 1 MB Minutes: (Report LR517 refers) The Committee considered the Report which outlined the comments received during the consultation period (20 December 2018 to 20 January 2019) for the review of the Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 (“the Policy”). The Committee had agreed the Policy for consultation at its previous meeting held on 6 December 2018. The Licensing Manager reported that the comments received during the consultation period had now been adequately addressed and it was proposed that the revised Policy be taken to Council at its meeting on 28 February 2019, for adoption. RESOLVED: 1. That the revised Licensing Policy be recommended to Council for adoption.

Registering to speak at meetings of the council:

The information below relates to the majority of meetings of the council but please note that different rules do apply for registering to speak at meetings of Full Council, Licensing Sub Committees, Planning Committees, Open Forums, and the Standards Hearing and Human Resources Sub Committees and the Appointments Panel. Further information can be obtained using the contact details above.

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