Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Rogers.

The Licensing Officer presented a report to determine the programme of street collections for 2020, including a provisional programme of collections, a brief summary of the nature of each charity and details of collections held in previous years.

It was noted that any further applications received for street collections in 2020 could be approved by officers under delegated authority.

* RESOLVED –

That the programme of street collections for 2020 be determined as follows:

25 May                                   Christian Education Council

6 June                                    Royal National Lifeboat Institution

4 July                                      Royal National Lifeboat Institution

27 – 28 June                          Chesterfield Canal Trust

23 October – 8 November     Poppy Appeal

Councillor Caulfield, Chair of the Taxi Consultative Committee, presented the Committee’s annual report for 2018/19.

The report provided details of the Committee’s membership and meetings held during 2018/19 and outlined the issues which had been considered during the year.

It was noted that the Committee provided an important forum for consideration of issues of interest with trade representatives, and with representatives of the Police and the County Council Highways department as required.

* RESOLVED

That the Taxi Consultative Committee annual report for 2018/19 be noted and accepted.

The Licensing Manager presented a report for Members to consider proposed amendments to the terms of reference of the Taxi Consultative Committee (TCC) and proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

The report outlined the background to the proposed amendments to the TCC terms of reference, which were designed to facilitate the appointment of trade representatives and to provide for continuity of consultation arrangements with the trade. It was noted that the proposed amendments had been discussed at the last meeting of the TCC in July, 2019.

The report explained the reasons for the proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing policy, covering the following issues:

1)      Removing the requirement for a further six months disqualification from holding a private hire / hackney carriage driver’s licence following periods of disqualification of a DVLA licence of six months or less;

2)      Where side signs on the two front doors of larger licensed vehicles may look inappropriate, providing discretion for officers to permit the signs to be placed elsewhere;

3)      Providing an exemption to allow advertising on the rear windows of licensed vehicles, subject to these complying with DVLA visibility rules.

It was suggested that there be a six weeks period of consultation on the proposed amendments to the policy. 

* RESOLVED –

(1) That the proposed amendments to the terms of reference of the Taxi Consultative Committee be approved as follows:

·        In the event of there being fewer than three nominations for each category of licence holders, then nominations with fewer than ten supporting licence holders will be considered;

·        In the event of there being less than six trade members in total at any one time, the Committee may decide to continue to function, and in the event that a vote on such a matter is a tie, the Chair will have a casting vote;

·        The power to amend the Committee’s terms of reference includes, in exceptional circumstances, giving retrospective effect to a decision made by the Committee.

(2)  That the proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy be approved, subject to a six weeks period of consultation and there being no adverse representations received during this period, as follows:

·        If a driver or applicant for a taxi driver’s licence has received a period of disqualification of their DVLA licence in excess of six months they must wait a further six months from when the period of disqualification ends before they are eligible to receive a licence;

·        Officers are given discretion to allow side signs to be placed on other than the front doors of large licensed vehicles where that would look inappropriate;

·         Advertising is permitted on the rear windows of licensed vehicles, providing it complies with the DVLA rules on visibility and adhere to the policy regarding content.