Agenda item

Report of the Director of Early Intervention and Support (enclosed)

The Director of Early Intervention and Support submitted a report for the Licensing and Public Safety Committee to agree the second consultation and proposed amended phased implementation of vehicle emissions standards and the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) safety rating standards for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle licences.

In February 2016 the Licensing and Public Safety Committee agreed in principle to the introduction of a minimum of Euro 5 emissions standards for licensed vehicles to preserve and protect air quality and to a minimum standards of 4* NCAP safety rating of vehicles to protect public safety as part of the review of the vehicle conditions.

The Regulatory Services Manager informed Members that the Licensing Liaison Panel meeting following this had been productive and the options in the report were considered and proposed.

At the Licensing and Public Safety Committee meeting in July 2016 Members requested further information in relation to the lifespan of vehicles used as Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles. Members were advised that determining the lifespan of vehicles proved difficult due to dependence on age, mileage and maintenance of the vehicle and the business model of the proprietor. Members were also reminded that when considering this, the mileages these vehicles were subject to was in excess of those made by a domestic vehicle, with the average licensed vehicle travelling 1000-2000 miles per week, with an average annual mileage of between 50,000 – 100,000 miles.

Members were informed that 28 MOT tests had been assessed at random which made up around 15 per cent of the whole fleet within Chorley. Findings illustrated that only three of these vehicles had travelled less than 100,000 miles, with very few being longer mileage vehicles. Three vehicles provided clear evidence of good preventative maintenance; two vehicles had six failures, five had four failures and there were six with three failures which consisted predominantly of illegal tyres, worn brakes and failed suspension.

Following this, evidence demonstrated that although the failures were being amended the advisories were not being addressed and numerous vehicles were not being maintained between MOT tests. Ultimately this raised concerns amongst the committee and they noted the information presented. Numerous local authorities do not tolerate MOT results including advisories which indicated the severity of this issue and presented a matter which needed addressing by the committee as consistent failures cannot be accepted.

At the Licensing Liaison Panel officers disregarded a blanket age restriction as this left the council open to challenge if it was to be implemented. Following this, Members discussed the potential options, including the timescales recommended at the Licensing and Public Safety Committee in July 2016.

All the options considered at the Licensing Liaison Panel and those included in the report were considered. After careful consideration it was proposed by Adrian Lowe, seconded by Hasina Khan and subsequently RESOLVED unanimously to;

a)    require all vehicles subject to a grant of a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle Licence to meet Condition 21 (Emission standards of Euro 5 or above) and condition 22 (NCAP safety rating of 4* or above) from 1 January 2017; except allow those vehicles that have previously been subject to a licence, but where this has lapsed or been suspended, to be treated as existing vehicles, rather than at the next grant application, (as would be required by Option 1 a),

b)   that where a vehicle is written off due to a non-fault accident, the grandfather rights as described in the report are honoured and the replacement like for like vehicle of the same make, model and year will be accepted as an existing vehicle; and

c)    require all existing vehicles to comply with the conditions 21 and 22 from 1 January 2024 (the timescale proposed by committee members at the previous meeting).