Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Pat Haughton, Councillor Doreen Dickinson, Councillor Laura Lennox and Councillor Ralph Snape.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda. If the interest arises only as result of your membership of another public body or one to which you have been appointed by the Council then you only need to declare it if you intend to speak.

If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report of the Director of People and Places (enclosed).

Members of the Committee considered a report from the Director of People and Places which sought the Committee’s approval to changes in the Council’s Hackney and Private Hire vehicle conditions relating to seating provision on MPV type vehicles.

Representatives from the taxi trade had been consulted, and while there was a broad agreement with the proposed change in the conditions, there was concern with the conditions relating to the safe storage of luggage and indicated that some vehicle proprietors would incur additional cost in the provision of suitable means of securing luggage.  However it was the officer’s view that unsecured luggage did pose a risk of injury to passengers in circumstances where a vehicle might have to take evasive action or stop suddenly.

Members were also asked to consider four options for implementing the revised conditions for existing licensed vehicles

It was proposed by Councillor David Dickinson, seconded by Councillor Marion Lowe and subsequently RESOLVED: 

1. that the revised conditions be approved and be implemented with immediate effect for all new hackney and private hire vehicles
2. to implement Option 4 – set an implementation date beyond which any vehicle licence renewal application will mean that the vehicle will have to comply with the amended conditions.
3. that the date of 1 June 2011 be set as the date beyond which any vehicles being presented for a vehicle licensing renewal (Hackney and/or Private Hire) must meet the revised conditions.