Meeting documents

To sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2010

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2010 were agreed by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

To sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 3 February 2010 (previously circulated)

The Committee agreed to defer approval of the Minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 3 February 2010 since no Members present had attended the meeting.

To note the Minutes of the meeting of the Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Sub Committee held on 15 December 2009 (previously circulated)

Members were asked to consider the inclusion of an additional Hackney Carriage vehicle condition to require vehicles to display Chiltern District Council and Thames Valley Police partnership branded door stickers.  The stickers included the vehicle licence number with the option for the name and telephone number of the taxi company.

Examples of the proposed stickers were circulated at the meeting.

The Officers advised that consultation had been undertaken with the Chiltern District Drivers Association (CDDA).  Some amendments to the stickers had been made following these discussions, and the CDDA had supported the initiative subject to the amendments.

The Committee expressed concerns regarding the costs of the stickers, including the replacement costs when damaged.

The Officers advised that funding for the first 6 months would be derived from Thames Valley Police as part of ‘Operation Confidence’.  After that the Licensing section would cover costs, and funding had already been allocated; there would not be an additional burden on the taxpayer.  The costs of changes to stickers - for example, as a result of an operator changing telephone number - would be borne by the operator.  The CDDA had accepted this.  It was added that the introduction of the electronic ‘knowledge test’ and associated charges had generated an income and better utilisation of resources for the Licensing section.  As a result of the savings achieved by the section, the licence costs charged to drivers, proprietors and operators by the licensing authority had not been increased for three years, but would be reviewed in the near future.

The Committee noted that similar schemes had worked well in other authorities across the country.  The supplier of the stickers was used by many other local authorities, and the stickers were durable.  It was also noted that executive private hire vehicles were excluded from the requirement for door stickers.

It was noted that membership of the Taxi and Private Hire Sub Committee would be drawn from the parent Licensing and Regulation Committee from the Annual Council meeting on 18 May 2009.  The Committee agreed to defer the training session until after the Annual Council meeting when the Licensing and Regulation Committee would be re-appointed for 2010/11.