Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2019 as a correct record.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2019 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any disclosures of interest from Councillors in accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct for Members.

There were none.

To consider the report of the Principal Licensing Officer on the review of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy following a consultation period.

The Principal Licensing Officer reported on the comments received following a four week consultation period on the revised hackney carriage and private hire Licensing Policy. He detailed the responses to each comment, as set out in the report.

The Committee noted that grandfather rights in respect of tinted windows would be given to owners of vehicles already licensed with Spelthorne Borough Council for the remainder of their licensable tenure. The proposed conditions in relation to tinted windows, as detailed at Paragraph 6.5 of the revised Policy,  would only apply to newly licensed vehicles from September 2019.  The Committee discussed whether to require the removal of adhesive tint for existing vehicles and noted that it was easy to achieve and at a low cost. On balance the Committee decided that for the promotion of public safety, drivers should be required to remove adhesive window tinting from existing licensed vehicles within 6 months of the Policy coming into effect.

The Committee considered the comments received from the Licensing Team Leader at Guildford Borough Council set out at Paragraph 10 of the report. The Committee agreed to:

·         Delay the proposal to require drivers to undertake equalities training until the final government guidance is published;

·         Retain the age limit for licensable vehicles at 10 years as per the current Policy; and

·         Include additional wording at Paragraph 2.10 of the Policy, that PH Operators are required to keep a register of all staff (Controllers) taking bookings and have regard to the same Surrey-wide convictions policy as the Council when employing staff.

Resolved to approve the revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as attached at Appendix A to the agenda, subject to:

1.    The inclusion of a requirement to remove adhesive window tinting from existing licensed vehicles within 6 months of the Policy coming into effect and

2.    The inclusion of additional wording at Paragraph 2.10 of the Policy, that PH Operators are required to keep a register of all staff (Controllers) taking bookings and have regard to the same Surrey-wide convictions policy as the Council when employing staff.

To note the work and decisions of Licensing Sub-Committees held since 4 September 2019.

The Committee noted the report of Sub-Committee decisions taken since its last meeting in September 2019.

The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, thanked Rob Thomas, Principal Licensing Officer for his work over many years at the Council and wished him success in his new career.