No declarations of interest were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Hill and Perkins.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Appeals and Regulatory Committee held on 24 October, 2018.

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the meeting of the Appeals and Regulatory Committee held on 24 October, 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record by the Chair.

Pursuant to Appeals and Regulatory Committee Minute No. 116, the Licensing Manager submitted a report for Members to consider proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy following the period of consultation.

The proposed amendments covered the following issues within the policy:

1)           Adoption of the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) database of refusals and revocations;

2)           Consideration of convictions to commence from the completion of any sentence imposed, rather than the date of conviction;

3)           Knowledge tests to be administered by a computerised system, when appropriate;

4)           Payment of an initial application fee for drivers, to cover the process up to the point their application is determined, the fee to be non-returnable;

5)           A requirement for licensed private hire drivers to notify the Council which private hire operator they are working for;

6)           Amendment of the code of conduct with regard to the wording of the dress code;

7)           Replacement of the requirement for applicants to provide financial references with a self-declaration form.

The consultation had involved discussion at the Taxi Consultative Committee meeting, a letter to all licence holders and operators and information provided to customers at the licensing service counter. The only response which had been received was support for the amendments from the Taxi Consultative Committee.

* RESOLVED –

That the proposed policy amendments be approved for implementation from 3 December, 2018.