Agenda item

Report of Licensing Manager.

The licensing manager introduced a report to enable members to consider the outcome of the recent consultation on the continued use of the policy which had resulted in the removal of an age restriction for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles.

Members were reminded that at the Licensing Regulatory Committee meeting on 2 September 2010 the Committee had approved the introduction of a policy which removed the condition on age restriction for private hire and hackney carriage vehicles licences. This had been decided following discussions at the Taxi Liaison Group, the receipt of a representation from a member of the trade and in line with the Department for Transport Best Practice Guidance, which was outlined in the report.

Prior to this the following condition had been attached to vehicles licensed as hackney carriages or private hire vehicles by this authority:-

“Vehicles for which Hackney Carriage/Private Hire licences are applied for must be under 5 years of age from date of first registration and on attaining 10 years of age from date of first registration, will cease to be licensed by this authority and will no longer be able to function as licensed Hackney Carriages/Private Hire vehicles within the Lancaster City.

Exceptions to the 10 years age limit may be made in the case of certain vehicles, i.e. limousines, such as Rolls Royce, Bentley etc. Applications for such exceptions must be made in writing to the Licensing Manager.

In the case of London type Cabs, and certain executive vehicle, the upper age limit shall be 15 years old with replacement vehicles being less than six years old.”

Following the committee’s decision on the 2 September 2010 some members of the trade had made representations to members of the Licensing Regulatory Committee.

There had been concern that the removal of the age restriction would lead to the industry being flooded with ‘bangers.’ In order to ensure that this didn’t happen the licensing manager had prepared a report for the committee. The report recommended that the following condition be included in the policy

“Any vehicle submitted for licensing that is 10 years old or older, or any vehicle which continues to be licensed beyond the age of 10 years must be in exceptional condition and must be approved by the Licensing Regulatory Committee, on initial application and each subsequent renewal. Any such vehicle will be subject to a full test at the Council’s designated testing station every 4 months.”

Members were reminded the report had not been considered in November, as members had asked for further extensive consultation on a number of matters. The removal of the age restriction had been included in that consultation process, which had taken place over a six month period concluding on 30 June2011.

A breakdown of the results of the consultation was outlined in the report. The committee considered this in detail.

Members were advised that over the past few months licensing officers had carried out inspections of all vehicles licensed by this authority, and had been highly impressed by the condition of some of the older vehicles, whilst many newer vehicles had been given defect notices, due to their tatty appearance.

It was reported that the licensing department had not been flooded with applications from people wanting to license very old vehicles, and whilst the policy of not having an age restriction had been in force, standards had been maintained due to rigorous inspections.

Officers were of the opinion that the age condition that was removed in September 2010 had been very restrictive, in particular the fact that vehicles had to be less than 5 years old when first licensed. This had prevented people coming into the trade as a proprietor, and also had the potential to cause people to get into debt by financing vehicles that they could not really afford. The condition had also created anomalies, whereby someone could licence a vehicle that was 2 or 3 days under 5 years old and keep that vehicle licensed until it was 10 years old, whereas someone bringing a vehicle along that was 1 day over 5 years old, would be refused a licence, regardless of its condition or mileage.

Additionally, members were advised that if a vehicle licence was inadvertently allowed to lapse, and the vehicle was over 5 years old, it would not be eligible to be relicensed, even though possibly a few days before it had been accepted as a licensed vehicle. If a vehicle was due for renewal 2 days before its 10thanniversary it would be eligible to be licensed, and would continue to be licensed until it was almost 11 years old, whereas if a vehicle was due for renewal 1 day after its 10thanniversary it would not be relicensed regardless of its condition and the fact that it had been still licensed to carry members of the public less than 24 hours before.

The committee was advised that all vehicles were required to pass the inspection at the council’s vehicle maintenance unit, and therefore must be suitable for purpose. Members asked questions of the licensing manager relating to the inspection of vehicles.

It was proposed by Councillor Burns and seconded by Councillor Dixon: -

“That the current policy be amended by adding the following condition:

“Any vehicle submitted for licensing that is 10 years old or older, or any vehicle which continues to be licensed beyond the age of 10 years must be in exceptional condition and must be approved by the Licensing Regulatory Committee, on initial application and each subsequent renewal. Any such vehicle will be subject to a full test at the Council’s designated testing station every 4 months.””

Upon being put to the vote 5 members voted in favour of the proposition, and 2 against, whereupon the chairman declared the proposition to be carried. 

Resolved:

That the current policy be amended by adding the following condition:

“Any vehicle submitted for licensing that is 10 years old or older, or any vehicle which continues to be licensed beyond the age of 10 years must be in exceptional condition and must be approved by the Licensing Regulatory Committee, on initial application and each subsequent renewal. Any such vehicle will be subject to a full test at the Council’s designated testing station every 4 months.”