Issue - meetings

To consider agreement of the proposed taxi and private hire fees and charges.

The Principal Licensing Officer reported on the review and setting of fees and charges for the licensing of Hackney Carriages, Private Hire and Private Hire Operators. All licence holders were notified on 28 October 2022 to seek their views on the proposed hackney carriage and private hire licence fees. Following the 28-day consultation period, the licensing authority had received three objections from licence holders on the proposed fees and charges.

The Principal Licensing Officer summarised the objections received which included the fees being in the best interest of the council; the fees had not increased since the tariff change in 2015; there was no taxi sign for the main side of Staines-Upon-Thames railway station; there was a lack of work and a suggestion that the Council had not provided taxi jobs.

The Committee noted that only a small number of objections had been received considering the number who were notified, and that a majority of concerns addressed in the objections were out of the Council’s control.

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson and seconded by Councillor Doran and resolved that the proposed fees and charges be rounded down to the nearest pound.

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson and seconded by Councillor Rybinski and resolved that the proposed fees and charges shall come into force from 1 January 2023.

The Committee Resolved to agree with the proposed taxi and private hire fees and charges set out in Appendix A of the report.

To consider approval of the proposed fees and charges for consultation purposes and statutory advertising requirements.

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the proposed fees and charges for the Licensing of Hackney Carriages, Private Hire and Private Hire Operators prior to undergoing a consultation period. She provided a summary of how the fees had been calculated and the anticipated change to annual income the proposed changes would generate.

The Principal Licensing Officer explained that the report required two alterations under the proposed fees: the “New Driver Private Hire (3 Year)” fee should be £376.81, and the “Renewal Driver Private Hire (3 year)” fee should be moved from the 1 year fee column to the 3 year fee column.

The Committee noted the calculations had taken the rise in cost-of-living expenses into consideration, and though some of the fees had reduced there would still be a slight increase to annual income. The Committee acknowledged the fees were in line with neighbouring authorities but could not be directly compared due differing practices between authorities.

The Committee discussed the proposed options and agreed that keeping the wheelchair accessible vehicle discount would provide an incentive for operators to utilise accessible vehicles.

The Committee resolved to agree to consult with the taxi trade on the proposed fees and charges keeping the wheelchair accessible vehicle discount.