Agenda item

Report of the licensing manager.

The licensing manager presented a report to inform members of the existing arrangements for holding consultation forums with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors, and to seek their instructions regarding arrangements for future meetings, including membership of the Taxi Liaison Group.

 

Members were reminded that since 2000, it had been the practice for members of the Licensing Regulatory Committee (formerly the Licensing Committee) and appropriate officers to hold separate six monthly forum meetings with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors. The purpose of these meetings was to provide a forum for consultation with the taxi trade on various issues affecting vehicles and drivers. It was advised that meetings had usually been held in April and October.   

 

At its meeting on 14 June 2007, the committee had reviewed the arrangements for holding consultations with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors, these were outlined in full in the report.

 

Members were advised that the delayed April proprietors’ forum meetings had been held on 28 June 2007 at the revised times of 11.00 am and 12.00 noon, although very few proprietors had attended those meetings.

 

The then licensing manager had subsequently considered the introduction of a multi-agency partnership approach to liaison with representatives of hackney carriage and private hire proprietors. At the meeting of the committee on 6 September 2007 members had considered a report proposing the formation of a Taxi Liaison Group (TLG) which would consist of representatives of the licensing, the Police, the Highways Authority and a small number of hackney carriage and private hire proprietors. It had been envisaged that the trade representatives would normally be the directors of the main taxi companies along with representatives of drivers’ groups. In the above report, the licensing manager had also proposed that meetings of the TLG should be held every six months but midway between the six monthly forum meetings held with all proprietors on the following basis:

 

      January - TLG meeting

 

      April -   Hackney carriage and private hire proprietors’ forum meetings

 

      July - TLG meeting

 

      October - Hackney carriage and private hire proprietors’ forum meetings

 

At the above meeting, the then licensing manager had proposed to members that the TLG arrangement would enable more meaningful discussions to be held in a partnership approach to addressing various issues. It was expected that such issues would include the council’s delivery of its taxi licensing service, policing and highways matters affecting drivers and vehicles and service standards generally within the taxi trade. It was further proposed that notes recording actions arising from TLG meetings would be reported to the next forum meeting with all hackney carriage and private hire proprietors. It was thought that this would enable a basis for more effective and structured discussions at such forum meetings, and in turn would benefit proprietors and the other regulatory agencies involved in the taxi licensing function.

 

Following consideration of this, the committee had resolved the following:

 

            (1)        that Members approve that the existing arrangements for meeting with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors on a six monthly basis as decided at the Committee meeting on 28 June 2007 be maintained;

 

            (2)        that Members note the Licensing Manager’s proposals to introduce an office based Taxi Liaison Group involving representatives of hackney carriage and private hire proprietors, the Police and the Highway Authority;

 

            (3)        that notes of the Taxi Liaison Group meetings be circulated to Members of the Committee.

 

Members were advised that the first meeting of the TLG had been held in January 2008, followed by the proprietors’ forum meetings in April 2008. The next TLG meeting had been held in July 2008, followed by a special TLG meeting held in October 2008 to discuss certain policing and traffic enforcement issues and to commence a review of the hackney carriage ranking and private hire parking arrangements in Lancaster city centre. The      next proprietors’ forum meeting had followed in November 2008.    

 

The four proprietors’ forum meetings (two for hackney carriage and two for private hire) held in 2008 had been poorly attended with a total of seven proprietors attending the two meetings held in April and also seven attending the two meetings held in November.  The TLG, on the other hand, had proved to be a more effective forum through the engagement of various partner agencies and stake holders including the council’s access officer. As a result, at a meeting of the Licensing Regulatory Committee held on the 8 January 2009, it was agreed that the hackney carriage and private hire proprietors’ forum meetings should be held annually rather than every six months as had been the case previously

 

Members were advised that a request had been made by members of the Taxi Liaison Group for the Forum to be held twice a year in April and October as was previously the case, as they had felt that 12 months between the meetings was too long a period.  It was suggested that members may also wish to consider the format of the Forum meetings, and whether existing arrangements as set out in the report were still appropriate. Members were advised that it was intended that the chief executive would be attending future meetings of the TLG and Forum meetings.

 

Officers suggested that whilst the TLG was an effective mechanism for discussions, there had been problems with membership, and questions raised as to who should be attending and who represents who. Officers advised that they would like to formalise these arrangements to ensure that a proper balance could be maintained between ensuring that all sectors of the trade were represented and ensuring that the group was small enough to have meaningful discussions. It had been proposed by a member of the TLG that all attendees at the meeting should be able to evidence that they represented at least 15 members of the trade. Whatever decision was taken about entitlement to attend as a trade representative it was recommended that a form should be submitted to the licensing department two months prior to the meetings signed by members of the trade that are being represented by the individual.  A Newsletter was sent to all members of the trade following each TLG meeting outlining what had been discussed, and the minutes were published on line.

 

 

It was proposed by Councilor Denwood and seconded by Councillor Johnson:  

 

“(1)            That the report be noted.

 

 (2)             That the arrangements for holding consultations with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors be resolved as follows:

 

(1)               That the forums be held on a six monthly basis, scheduled to commence at 11.00 am.

 

(2)               That the chairman’s and/or the vice-chairman’s attendance at the forums be mandatory.

 

(3)               that the attendance of other members of the licensing regulatory committee be on a voluntary basis.

 

(4)               that hackney carriage and private hire proprietors be notified of forum meetings in writing and advised to submit items for the agenda by a set date.

 

(5)               that the number of items submitted for the agenda be limited to three per proprietor/association.

 

(6)               that the agenda be prepared and posted to the city council’s website with copies available at Lancaster and Morecambe town halls.

 

(7)               that proprietors/associations be given a set timescale of three minutes in which to speak on each agenda item.

 

(8)               that whether questions are from an individual or association is at the Chairman’s discretion.

 

(9)               that “Council Issues” be the first agenda item.

 

(10)           that the order in which other agenda items is taken be at the chairman’s discretion.

 

(11)           That only members of the hackney carriage and private hire trade that hold a current licence issued by Lancaster City Council, officers of the Lancashire Constabulary, elected members, officers of the council and any speaker that may from time to time be invited by officers of the council may attend the forums.”

 

Upon being put to the vote members voted unanimously in favour of the proposition, whereupon the chairman declared the proposition to be carried.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)               That the report be noted.

 

(2)               That the arrangements for holding consultations with hackney carriage and private hire proprietors be resolved as follows:

 

(1)               That the forums be held on a six monthly basis, scheduled to commence at 11.00 am.

 

(2)               That the chairman’s and/or the vice-chairman’s attendance at the forums be mandatory.

 

(3)               that the attendance of other members of the licensing regulatory committee be on a voluntary basis.

 

(4)               that hackney carriage and private hire proprietors be notified of forum meetings in writing and advised to submit items for the agenda by a set date.

 

(5)               that the number of items submitted for the agenda be limited to three per proprietor/association.

 

(6)               that the agenda be prepared and posted to the city council’s website with copies available at Lancaster and Morecambe town halls.

 

(7)               that proprietors/associations be given a set timescale of three minutes in which to speak on each agenda item.

 

(8)               that whether questions are from an individual or association is at the Chairman’s discretion.

 

(9)               that “Council Issues” be the first agenda item.

 

(10)           that the order in which other agenda items is taken be at the chairman’s discretion.

 

(11)           That only members of the hackney carriage and private hire trade that hold a current licence issued by Lancaster City Council, officers of the Lancashire Constabulary, elected members, officers of the council and any speaker that may from time to time be invited by officers of the council may attend the forums.