Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2013 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 17^th October 2013 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman advised that there was one item of urgent business regarding Street Collection Permits 2013 (minute no. 74 refers).

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting.)

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests, which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B, Section 2, of the Code of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct.   

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman advised that with the agreement of Members, the following item of business would be taken first and the Request for a Private Hire Vehicle Licence for a Vehicle over 10 Years of Age on First Application – Terence Paul Sharpe would be considered last.

Report of Chief Officer (Health and Housing)

Committee received the report of the Chief Officer (Health & Housing) to seek Members’ approval for the adoption of revised model conditions for pet shops and other pet vendors.

The Public Health Team Leader advised that local authorities issued licences to proprietors of pet shops and other pet vendors under the provisions of the Pet Animals Act 1951 and could attach conditions to the licence. 

It was reported that the City Council had adopted the Model Standards for Pet Shop Licence Conditions, which had been developed in 1992 by a working group formed by the Local Government Association (LGA) and revised in 1998. 

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, those responsible for animals had a duty of care towards the welfare of the animals in their care, and it was noted that, prior to issue of a pet shop/vendor licence, the five needs defined in the Animal Welfare Act and set out in the report needed to be considered.

It was reported that a revised set of model standards had been produced in September 2013 – Model Conditions for Pet Vending Licensing 2013 - which would replace the 1998 LGA Model Standards.  The new document was in the form of conditions, each followed by guidance explaining the reasoning behind the condition and making recommendations on how to comply.  Details of the way the conditions differed from the existing model standards were set out in the report.

The City Council’s twelve licensed pet vendors had been consulted on the model conditions.  One technical query had been received, but no objections had been raised.

Officers did not consider the additional details to be unduly burdensome, and the majority of licensed pet vendors within the district already complied.  It was noted that full compliance would entail minimal expense for those pet vendors who did not currently meet the revised conditions, but that the requirements for additional record-keeping may have time implications for some licensees.

It was proposed by Councillor Hill and seconded by Councillor Metcalfe:

“That the Model Conditions for Pet Vending Licensing 2013, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted and full compliance be required within six months.”

Upon being put to the vote, 3 Members voted in favour of the proposition and 5 against, whereupon the Chairman declared the proposal to be lost.

It was then moved by Councillor Dixon and seconded by Councillor Dennison:

“That the Model Conditions for Pet Vending Licensing 2013, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted and full compliance be required within four months.”

Upon being put to the vote, Members voted unanimously in favour of the proposition, whereupon the Chairman declared the proposal to be clearly carried.

Resolved:

That the Model Conditions for Pet Vending Licensing 2013, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted and full compliance be required within four months.

The Public Health Team Leader and Technical Officer left the meeting at this point.

ITEMS SUBJECT TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Report of Chief Officer (Governance)

Committee received the report of the Chief Officer (Governance) to consider an address to Council on the 13^th November 2013 by Councillor Mace, which had been referred to the Committee for consideration. 

Under the Scheme of Public Participation, Andrea Forrest, Solicitor, of MG Legal Solutions (on behalf of the Hackney Carriage Trade) and Councillor Roger Mace spoke in connection with the report.  

The Chief Officer (Governance) introduced the report, which was in two parts, relating to byelaws and enforcement, and gave background information and set out options. 

Byelaws

Option 1 – An amendment to byelaw 7 similar to that in force in York, which would dispense, between the hours specified in the byelaw, with the requirement for a vehicle that was plying for hire to proceed to a rank, allowing the vehicle to drive around the streets plying for hire. 

It was reported that it was understood from York that such an amendment would not dispense with the requirement to stand on a designated rank if the vehicle were to ply for hire whilst stationary.

Option 2 – An amendment to byelaw 7, which would disapply the whole of byelaw 7 between specified hours.  There would be no requirement to proceed to a rank during those hours and a vehicle could ply for hire anywhere, subject to ordinary parking restrictions. 

It was reported that this could lead to congestion, road safety issues and uncertainty for the public as to where they should go for a taxi and whether a stationary vehicle was a licensed vehicle.  For these reasons, Option 2 was not an option that officers could recommend. 

The County Council had been consulted and its response was circulated at the meeting.  It did not support the removal of byelaw 7, as this had the potential to have a detrimental effect on traffic flows, specifically within Lancaster city centre during peak travel times.

The report advised that officers were of the view that any amendment of the current byelaws could lead to traffic and road safety issues, and advised that in trying to resolve the current short term issue in this way, there was a danger of creating more problems for the long term.

Option 3 – The byelaws could remain in place without amendment, but the County Council, as highway authority, and in conjunction with the Police, could be asked to consider any locations that could be designated as additional ranks at limited hours of the day or night. 

It was reported that there may be such locations near late night entertainment venues, which could safely be used during restricted hours, perhaps late at night and early in the morning.  However, there would still be a need for enforcement to ensure that any such locations were not used outside those hours. 

The Chief Officer (Governance) made clear that Option 3 was the preferred officer option.

The County Council had advised that they supported this option and that any changes to the ranking provision should be considered by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

Report of Chief Officer (Governance)

Committee received the report of the Chief Officer (Governance) to consider the introduction of a booking/call-out fee, through the fare tariff, for hackney carriages, following discussions at the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Proprietors’ Forum.

Under the Scheme of Public Participation, Councillor Roger Mace and Andrea Forrest, Solicitor, of MG Legal Solutions (on behalf of the Hackney Carriage Trade) spoke in connection with the report.  

The Chief Officer (Governance) reported that it had been brought to licensing officers’ attention, following a complaint about overcharging in October, that apparently a call-out fee was currently being charged by some hackney carriages, and this had been reiterated by at least one member of the trade at the recent Forum meeting.  However, there was no such provision in the fare tariff and it was not therefore lawful.

Members were advised that now that officers and the Committee were aware of the issue, action needed to be taken to either amend the fare tariff to allow for such charges, or to ensure that the law was complied with and that such charges were not made.

The options were set out in the report, for Committee’s consideration, as follows:

Option 1:        Make no change to the fare tariff, and ensure that booking or call-out charges are not made.

Option 2:       Increase the fare tariff so that the initial flag-fall and subsequent yardage rates are higher for all journeys, but continue to ensure that booking or call-out charges are not made.

Option 3:        To amend the fare tariff to introduce a booking/call-out charge based on the distance travelled by the vehicle to the point where the journey commences.

Option 4:        To amend the fare tariff to introduce a maximum booking/call-out charge to be agreed with the passenger before the journey.

Option 5:        To amend the fare tariff to introduce a fixed booking fee.

Option 6:        To amend the fare tariff to introduce an extra charge for all journeys commencing more than three miles from the city centre (defined as Dalton Square, Lancaster), the charge being the amount that would show on the meter for the journey to the pick-up, less the flag-fall.  The charge would have to be agreed with the hirer before the commencement of the journey.

Officers emphasised that if a booking fee were to be introduced, this should be done through the fare tariff as an extra charge, and the tariff should make it clear that the charge must be agreed with the hirer at the time of the booking.  It would be a requirement that the fare for the actual journey be charged through the meter, and that the meter not be switched off at any time during the actual journey.  Any proposal to amend the fare tariff would need to be progressed in accordance with the statutory advertisement procedure.

It was reported that all hackney carriage proprietors had been consulted on the proposals in respect of a booking fee in relation to hackney carriage vehicles, and only six responses had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

Inspector Thackeray-Scott left the meeting at this point.

The Chief Executive left the meeting at this point.

The Committee adjourned at 4.00 p.m. and reconvened at 4.05 p.m.

APPLICATIONS NOT SUBJECT TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

In accordance with Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman agreed to consider the report.  The item was considered urgent because the matter had only come to light following publication of the agenda and needed to be considered at the Committee’s January meeting.

Committee received the report of the Licensing Manager containing a schedule of the organisations that had applied for street collection permits in 2014, together with details of the Committee’s current policy on the allocation of permits.

It was proposed by Councillor Hill and seconded by Councillor Dixon:

“That the recommendations set out in the report be approved and that, in future, the allocation of permits be delegated to the Chief Officer (Governance), unless there are more applications than permits available, when the allocation be determined by the Committee.”

Upon being put to the vote, Members voted unanimously in favour of the proposition, whereupon the Chairman declared the proposal to be clearly carried.

Resolved:

(1)        That permits be allocated to the 5 national charities that have applied for a permit for Lancaster.

(2)        That a permit be allocated to the 5 charities that have applied for a permit for Lancaster and have demonstrated that all money collected will be distributed within the City Council District.

(3)        That the Chief Officer (Governance) be authorised to allocate the remaining unallocated permits to both national and local charities on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

(4)        That, in future, the allocation of permits be delegated to the Chief Officer (Governance), unless there are more applications than permits available, when the allocation be determined by the Committee.

Report of Licensing Manager

Committee received the report of the Licensing Manager to enable Members to consider some minor amendments to the Rules, Regulations and Procedures for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing.

It was reported that at a recent meeting of the Taxi Task Group, a number of types of application had been identified, which were currently routinely referred to the Committee for decision and were not an efficient use of the Committee’s time, as follows:

Licensing of Vehicles Over Ten Years Old

It was suggested that applications for vehicles over ten years old should not be treated any differently from other licence applications.  The Scheme of Delegation authorised officers to grant licences unless there were any adverse representations or other reasons why the officer considered it appropriate to refer the matter to Committee.

DVLA Driving Licences

The Committee had imposed a requirement that applicants must have held a full DVLA licence for a period of three years to ensure that any person licensed to drive members of the public had sufficient driving experience.  Members were asked to consider whether they wished to withdraw the three year requirement and apply the statutory one year requirement set out in Section 59(1)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

Knowledge Test

The Committee required an applicant to pass a local knowledge test.  It was reported that an applicant who had failed the test on two occasions may make representations to the Committee.  It was not appropriate for the Committee to waive the requirement to have passed the test and it was suggested that an applicant who had failed the knowledge test on two occasions should be advised that the application criteria had not been met, and that a new application for a licence may be submitted at any time and the knowledge test taken again.

Members debated the proposals in detail.

It was proposed by Councillor Johnson and seconded by the Chairman:

“(1)      That the Rules, Regulations and Procedures for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing be amended to remove the requirement for vehicles over ten years of age at first licensing to be approved by the Committee, and to remove the facility for any applicant having failed the knowledge test on two occasions to make representations to the Committee.

(2)        That the requirement for an applicant for a driver’s licence to have held a DVLA driving licence for three years be retained for the time being, subject to further consideration at a future meeting.”

Upon being put to the vote, Members voted unanimously in favour of the proposition, whereupon the Chairman declared the proposal to be clearly carried.

Resolved:

(1)        That the Rules, Regulations and Procedures for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing be amended to remove the requirement for vehicles over ten years of age at first licensing to be approved by the Committee, and to remove the facility for any applicant having failed the knowledge test on two occasions to make representations to the Committee.

(2)        That the requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

Report of Licensing Manager

Committee received the report of the Licensing Manager to consider an application by Mr. Terence Paul Sharpe to license a vehicle which is over 10 years of age.

Resolved:

That, in view of Resolution 75 (1) above, consideration of this application now fell within the officer scheme of delegation.