Council and Democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3, Town Hall, Rose Hill, Chesterfield

Contact: Brian Offiler  01246 345228

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Chair

Minutes:

Councillor Innes was appointed as Chair of the Taxi Consultative Committee.

2.

Appointment of Vice Chair

Minutes:

Councillor Allen was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Taxi Consultative Committee.

3.

Selection of Trade Representatives

At the meeting held on 9 June, 2014, the following were nominated to be appointed as trade representatives:-

 

          Mr. C. Brown - representing Hackney Carriage trade

          Mr. S. Atkin - representing Hackney Carriage trade

          Ms. M. Briddon - representing Hackney Carriage trade

          Reserve – Mr. S. Bradshaw - representing Hackney Carriage trade

 

          Mr. S. Aldersley - representing Private Hire trade

          Mr. J. Brookbank - representing Private Hire trade

          Ms. A. Dickens - representing Private Hire trade

          Reserve - Ms. V Naylor - representing Private Hire trade

Minutes:

Further to the nominations made to the meeting on 9 June, 2014, the representatives appointed were:

 

Representing Hackney Carriage Licence Holders:

 

Mr C Brown

Mr S Atkin

Ms M Briddon

Reserve – Mr S Bradshaw

 

Representing Private Hire Licence Holders:

 

Mr S Aldersley

Mr J Brookbank

Ms A Dickens

Reserve – Ms V Naylor

4.

Declarations Of Members' And Officers' Interests Relating To Items On The Agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

5.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Mr S Aldersley, Mr S Atkin, Ms M Briddon, Mr C Brown, Ms A Dickens, Ms G Dowson and Mr T Durham.

6.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9th April, 2014 were agreed as a true record.

7.

Matters Arising on the Minutes pdf icon PDF 205 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Accident Rates for Taxis and Buses

 

As no further details had been received regarding the requested inclusion of this item, it was agreed that it be removed.

 

Town Centre Road Closures

 

Inspector Turner reported that Inspector Ball had received a positive response from Pubwatch to the trial of the removal of the restrictions when he had met them in February.

 

Violence to Taxi Drivers

 

Inspector Turner reported that a Taxi Fares Disputes advice sheet regarding civil and criminal offences had been created between the Police and the Council’s Licensing Department, which had been circulated to the taxi companies. A copy would also be sent out on licence renewal and applications. A copy of the advice sheet was attached as an Appendix to the agenda.

 

Wheelchair Accessibility Exercise

 

The Licensing Officer reported that no further wheelchair test operations had taken place as the Licensing Policy was under review and no specific issues had been highlighted.

 

Review of Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Policy

 

The Environmental Health Manager reported that the Policy was currently out for consultation with comments to be submitted to the Licensing Department by 31 July, 2014. It would then be considered through the Council’s Scrutiny process, prior to submission of a report to the Appeals and Regulatory Committee. A copy of the letter which had been sent to the trade highlighting the main policy changes was attached as an Appendix to the agenda and the main policy document could be accessed on the Council’s website.

8.

Safety Inspections of Vehicles Between Tests

Item raised by Steve Aldersley.

Minutes:

As this item had been included on the agenda at the request of Steve Aldersley, in his absence, it was agreed that it be deferred until the next meeting.

9.

Derbyshire County Council Issues

Minutes:

Simon Tranter reported that the new proposals for taxis at West Bars had started that week. He had also met and agreed with trade representatives the proposed arrangements in respect of Stephenson Place. A report would be submitted to the County Council Cabinet in August to recommend the proposed arrangements, which, if approved, would be implemented over the coming months.  

10.

Police Issues

Inspector Turner to provide crime figures on taxi related crime.

Minutes:

Inspector Turner provided crime figures for the period 1 April, 2014 to 30 June 2014 for the Chesterfield, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire Policing sections:-

 

17 occasions where the driver was the victim

0 occasions where a taxi company was the victim

2 occasions where a member of the public was the victim

2 occasions where the driver was an offender

1 crime was racially or religiously aggravated

 

Timing – 9 crimes were between 0000 hours and 0600 hours.

 

Violence against drivers – 3 threatening behaviour

 

Crime breakdown:

 

12 – making off without payment

2 – damage to vehicle

1 – actual bodily harm

2 – threatening behaviour racial/religious

1 - threatening behaviour

1 - theft

 

The figures showed a reduction in the number of reported incidents since the previous quarter.

 

It was noted that not all incidents of passengers making off without payment were reported to the Police. The advice sheet that had been prepared in respect of Fare Disputes would also be distributed to Police officers.

11.

Dates of Future Meetings

To agree the dates of meetings for 2014/15.

Minutes:

It was provisionally agreed to meet on Wednesday, 8 October, 2014, commencing at 6.00 pm, (with a reserve date of 22 October, 2014 if necessary).