Issue - meetings

To consider and approve the proposed taxi and private hire fees and charges.

The Committee considered a report on the setting of Fees & Charges for Hackney Carriages, Private Hire, and Private Hire Operators. The Principal Licensing Officer set out the responses to the consultation and advised that fares would be reviewed in Spring 2025. The Committee were advised that fees were set at a level which enabled full recover of the cost of running the service.

The Committee queried whether drivers were aware that if they subscribed to the DBS Update Service the yearly cost of DBS checks was reduced. The Principal Licensing Officer advised that drivers are told but it is their choice as to whether they pursued that option.

The Committee queried the increase in fees and why it was not in line with increases seen in other Committees and were advised that a full cost analysis had been done and the increase reflected what the actual cost of providing the service was.

The Committee resolved to confirm agreement with the proposed taxi and private hire fees noting the consultation responses and undertake to bring forward reviews of the policies expressly referred within a reasonable timeframe pursuant to meaningful consultation.

The meeting ended at 19:41

To consider approval of the proposed licensing 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 for consultation purposes.

The Principal Licensing Officer explained the proposed fees would cover increased costs to the service. A full cost analysis had been done to ensure the costs would be met and no surplus would be generated.

The Committee queried if it would be beneficial to add a slight increase to cover any unexpected costs that arose during the year, and the Principal Licensing Officer explained these would be identified as part of the next cost analysis exercise.

The Committee resolved to approve the proposed licensing fees and charges set out in the report for consultation purposes and statutory advertising requirements.