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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Walton Suite, Guildhall, Winchester

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

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Vice Chairman for the 2019/20 Municipal Year

Minutes:

 

RESOLVED:

           

            That Councillor Green be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Municipal Year.

2.

To note the time of future meetings of the Committee (currently approved dates are published as follows).

·         Thursday 6 June 2019

·         Thursday 19 September 2019 (previously Thursday 5 September 2019)

·         Thursday 5 December 2019

·         Thursday 20 February 2020

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the meetings of the Committee commence at 6.30pm in accordance with the published timetable of meetings for 2019/20, as set out on the agenda.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 February 2019.

 

Minutes:

In response to questions, the Licensing Manager updated the meeting on the case of Mr Ferham Khan and the driver and vehicle that had been licensed by the City of Wolverhampton Council.  It was noted that both Wessex cars (and Wintax) had not renewed their operation with Wolverhampton following the conviction of Mr Khan.

 

RESOLVED:

 

            That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee, held on 21 February 2019, be approved and adopted

4.

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:

There were no questions asked or statements made.

5.

Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy - Phase One Tip Top Taxis (Report LR520 refers) pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Report which reviewed the Statement of Licensing Policy with respect to Hackney and Private Hire Drivers, Vehicles and Operators.

 

In response to Member’s questions, the Licensing Manager and the Senior Licensing Officer who was the lead for the Tip Top Taxi project made comment and clarified the following:

 

The majority of Hackney Carriage Drivers had undertaken safeguarding training, which was classroom based and wide ranging in its content including, for example, raising awareness of human trafficking.  The possible future use of closed circuit television (CCTV) in cars remained under consideration.

 

In Section 1 – 1.1 the information to provide guidance on the licensing requirements in the Winchester City Council district were available to view on the Council’s website, or were signposted to be available elsewhere on-line.  If it was required, paper copies could be provided.  Information was not provided in a range of languages, and a good understanding of English was expected for drivers to communicate with clients.

 

Section 5.4 – the “M1” specification referred to the classification within the DVLA V5 registration document.  A Member suggested that Section 5.4 of the policy would also benefit from a sentence break being included.

 

Section 7.10 – A Member suggested that the wording of this section required further clarification in respect of the granting of a licence for one or five years.

 

Section 8.2 – the references to the European Union etc. would be reviewed following Brexit.

 

Section 11.3 – it was clarified that it was not automatic that penalty points were applied if a case was brought before the Licensing Sub Committee.

 

Penalty Points Table – Point 20 – it was not deemed necessary to carry a fire extinguisher and this approach had been confirmed following discussion with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.  A warning triangle (as deemed compulsory in some foreign countries) was also not required as it was not in any advice or in the Highway Code.

 

On a general point it was requested that the Licensing Manager consider the layout of the Policy document, perhaps changing the font of the headings to add clarity to the document and to highlight the distinction between Hackney and Private Hire where relevant.

 

It was also suggested that the Working Party might consider renaming the Tip Top taxi project, with the title of the Taxi Service Improvement Project put forward as a suggestion.

 

                        RESOLVED:

 

1.         That the amended version of the Statement of Licensing Policy with respect to Hackney and Private Hire Drivers, Vehicles and Private Hire Operators be approved for consultation with the hackney carriage and private hire trade.

 

2.         That if no comments are received following consultation, the Policy is referred for consideration of adoption by Cabinet.

6.

Minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 18 March 2019 pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Minutes:

 

            RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 18 March 2019 be received and noted (attached as Appendix A to the minutes).

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.

Members of the public may speak at this meeting, provided they have registered to speak three working days in advance. Please contact Democratic Services via democracy@winchester.gov.uk or (01962) 848 264 to register to speak and for further details - which can also be found on the individual meeting agenda front sheets.

 

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