Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Kevin Cuffley declared a non pecuniary interest as the holder of a Private Hire Drivers licence. The Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing confirmed that as Councillor Cuffley had already taken the private hire test, the proposals being considered by the committee would not affect him as a private hire driver.

The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 14 December 2016, were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

The Licensing Committee APPROVED:

a)    The adoption of the following Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) accredited driver assessment courses as approved formal driving tests, for all new applicants for Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers’ badges:

·         Institute of Advanced Motorists – Driving for Work course.

·         Driving Instructors Association

·         AA Drive Tech – Driving for Work course.

·         RoSPA Advanced Driving Test.

b)    That delegation is given to the Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing, in agreement with the Corporate Director for Health and Environmental Services, to authorise a similar provider/providers on a temporary basis subject to a report for consideration of approval being prepared for the Licensing Committee within six months.

The Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing presented the report which informed the committee of the withdrawal by the Driving Standards Agency (now the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency) to provide driving tests for new Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers licence applicants, and made recommendations for the future provision of formal driving tests.

The Committee was informed that:

·         Having notified the Council of its intentions in October 2016, the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) would be withdrawing the provision of these tests after 31 December 2016.

·         Another test was available with the RoSPA, however it was thought that only having one test provider would put the Council at risk.

·         99% of new hackney carriage and private hire applicants took the DVSA test.

·         The Department for Transport was considering guidance for taxi drivers regarding safeguarding. The Department for Transport advice will be considered when next reviewing the conditions of licensing of Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licenses.

·         A report would be presented to the Committee in future regarding further training for drivers to address wider issues such as customer service and vulnerability.

·         A computer test for hackney carriage drivers was being trialled. Once the trial was complete and had been reviewed, the adaptation of this for private hire drivers would be considered.

Driver language competency was discussed. Due to the implications of past case law, there was no language competency requirement for drivers. The Committee was informed that case law was now in place that would allow for a language competency requirement and this would be looked into.

Concern was raised regarding the amount of time it took applicants to get a booking for a driving test. The Head of Environmental Health and Licensing advised the Committee that the proposals outlined in the report would not speed up the process for taking the RoSPA test, however the recommendations if approved would give drivers the opportunity to take tests with other organisations, which may speed up the process.

The Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing explained the recommendations and proposed an additional recommendation which was that delegation be given to the Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing in agreement with the Corporate Director for Health and Environmental Services, to authorise a similar provider or providers on a temporary basis, subject to a report for consideration being prepared for the Licensing Committee within six months. The Chairman requested that should another provider be sought, that the Licensing Committee be notified of this by email.

The Licensing Committee AGREED:

a)    The adoption of the following Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) accredited driver assessment courses as approved formal driving tests, for all new applicants for Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers’ badges:

·         Institute of Advanced Motorists – Driving for Work course.

·         Driving Instructors Association

·         AA Drive Tech – Driving for Work course.

·         RoSPA Advanced Driving Test.

b)    That delegation is given to the Head of Service for Environmental Health and Licensing, in agreement with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.