Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor S Niblock.

Minutes of the meeting of the Appeals and Regulatory Committee held on 24 February, 2021.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Appeals and Regulatory Committee held on 24 February, 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Pursuant to Minute No. 10 (Appeals and Regulatory Committee), the Licensing Manager presented a report on representations received during the consultation on the proposed increase in taxi fees and charges from 1 April, 2021.

It was noted that the Appeals and Regulatory Committee, at its meeting on 25 November, 2020, had approved the proposed 3% increase in taxi fees and charges, subject to the outcome of consultation. A copy of the report considered by the Committee on 25 November, 2020, including a summary of the current and the proposed fees and charges and a comparison of fees charged by other Derbyshire authorities, was attached at Appendix I to the current report.

Seven representations had been received to the consultation, and these were attached at Appendix II to the current report.

It was noted that whilst the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in financial difficulty for the taxi trade, the Council had, since the representations had been received, offered grants to licensed drivers under the delegated grant scheme, and that the fees and charges had not been increased since April, 2019.

* RESOLVED –

That the proposed 3% increase in taxi fees and charges be approved with effect from 1 April, 2021.

Pursuant to Minute No. 8 (Appeals and Regulatory Committee), Councillor Caulfield, Chair of the Taxi Consultative Committee, and the Licensing Manager presented a report on the responses received from members of the Taxi Consultative Committee and relevant officers and partners as part of the recent review of whether there continued to be a role for the Committee and to determine the best practical approach for the future of the Committee.

It was noted that the Appeals and Regulatory Committee had considered the Taxi Consultative Committee’s Annual Report for 2019/20 (a copy of which was attached at Appendix A to the current report) at its meeting on 25 November, 2020, including reference to the proposed review of the future role of the Committee.

A summary of the responses received to the recent review was attached at Appendix B to the current report. It was noted that whilst effective communication between the licensing section and the trade had successfully dealt with any issues since the last meeting of the Taxi Consultative Committee in July, 2020, concerns had been raised that the Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted the normal working of the trade and that there may be opportunity for increased engagement with the trade, and with other partners such as the Police and the Highways Authority, again as recovery from the pandemic continued.

Members expressed their appreciation of the good communications established between the licensing section and the taxi trade and of the contribution of the taxi trade in respect of community safety issues and particularly enabling support to be provided to communities during the pandemic. It was therefore proposed that, in order to seek to develop a purposeful and meaningful consultative body, the future role and function of the Taxi Consultative Committee be further reviewed during the next three months whilst the scheduled meetings of the Committee were suspended and the appointment of the three trade representatives were temporarily extended beyond May, 2021.

* RESOLVED

(1)   That the meetings of the Taxi Consultative Committee scheduled in April and July, 2021 be suspended.

(2)   That the appointment of the three trade representatives who had been involved in the Committee over the last two years and who had responded to the recent review be extended for a temporary period of six months from May, 2021.

(3)   That a further review of the future role and function of the Taxi Consultative Committee be undertaken during the next three months in order to seek to develop a purposeful and meaningful consultative body, and that the conclusions of the review be reported to the Appeals and Regulatory Committee.