Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was submitted from Councillor Abdul Loyes.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 22 June 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 June 2023 were confirmed as a correct record, subject to the amendments below, and signed by the Chair.

On page 6 of the agenda, under the fourth bullet point, where it said ‘…then at 4 20 monthly intervals…’ The number 20 was superfluous and should be taken out.

Matters arising

The Statement of Licensing Policy 2023-2028 was now out for public consultation and would be considered at the January meeting of the Committee.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any public questions.

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

Neil Allen, Head of Legal advised that, at the Chairman’s discretion, Alan Parkinson from Green Metro Cars would be able to speak after discussions of the Hackney Carriage and Private hire Licensing Policy Public Consultation Responses and Determination item.

To answer any member questions.

There were no Member questions.

To receive and consider the Fees and Charges for Licensable Activity 2024/25 report.

Keiran Hinchliffe, Licensing Manager presented the Fees and Charges for Licensable Activity 2024/25 report.

No changes to the fees and charges structure were being proposed.  The proposal was in line with the approach taken by the Committee last year by increasing fees in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) at 6.3%.

The income from licensing fees should offset the costs to the Council of administering the licensing service.  Shortfalls or excesses should be balanced in following years over a balanced five year period of review.

In addition to processing, enforcement and management of the service, Licensing Officers would now administer crime reduction schemes relevant to licensing that could support the Violence Against Women and Girls agenda or other best practice schemes such as Best Bar accreditation and Purple Flag Status.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:

·           In relation to the street trading consent annual fee (page 25 of the agenda) Councillor Soane stated that whereas Wokingham was charging £1,514 Reading was charging £901.  He wished to understand why it was so much more expensing in Wokingham?  He mentioned that he had been made aware of cases where ice-cream vans which were licenced in Reading would take their chance and operate in Wokingham – if they were caught and taken to court, they would only incur in a £50 penalty fine;

·           Keiran Hinchliffe informed that the service was looking to introduce innovations to streamline the application processes.  Computer systems and database were potential areas for improvement, and it was hoped that with improvements the cost would go down;

·           Councillor Soane was concerned that Wokingham was charging £150 more than Bracknell for street trading consents;

·           Councillor Younis stated that in the past the Committee had been told that it was difficult to produce evidence of administrative costs because of the PPP.  He asked if it was possible to produce this evidence now that Wokingham was no longer in the PPP?

·           Councillor Burgess sough reassurances that the service would not build up reserves from fees and charges.  She pointed out that the CPI measure being used was as of August 2023, however inflation was expected to fall in the next year;

·           Councillor Smith agreed that more information about the cost of administering applications would be useful.  In relation to temporary event notices, he pointed out that it seemed wrong that large events paid the same amount as very small events;

·           Keiran Hinchliffe explained that when Wokingham pulled away from the PPP, there had been unknown factors, for example it had not been known how much would be received as income from licence fees.  One year on, there was now more understanding, but it would be advisable to review the five year period for a more complete analysis of the costs and revenue;

·           In 2022/23 the budget was £309k and £356k was received.  This year’s budget was £368K and so far, £179k has been received so the forecast was to be on budget this year;

·           Councillor Younis asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To receive and consider the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

The Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy Public Consultation Responses and Determination report was presented by Keiran Hinchliffe.

The report contained details of the proposed policy and the consultation results.

In previous meetings the Committee had requested further information on the following points:

Advertising in hackney carriage vehicles

Different councils had different approaches to advertising, this was a local decision.  Most councils allowed advertising through an application process, those hackney carriages that wanted to have advertising in their vehicles had to apply for permission to do so.  It was recommended that a similar approach be adopted by Wokingham.

Manchester City Council did not allow advertising of alcohol, tabaco products, e-cigarettes, gambling or pay loans.  It was recommended that Wokingham take the same stance in relation to prohibiting advertising of the above mentioned products.

Certificates of good character

It was proposed that the policy be amended to meet the statutory requirement of three months.

Climate Emergency

Keiran Hinchliffe met with the Climate Emergency Officer for Transport, and it was recognised that the policy does not address climate emergency legislation sufficiently, this was due to the cost of electric vehicles and the current charging infrastructure.  However, some effort was being made with Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission standards which were being proposed.  Overall, it was considered that the taxi trade provided a public service which may reduce reliance on private car ownership.

Euro 5 and Euro 6 requirements

In relation to school transport vehicles – There are 52 school transport vehicles in the borough, of which 20 would be negatively impacted by the Euro 5 and Euro 6 requirements.  There is discretion in the policy in relation to those vehicles with contracts with the local authority.

In relation to hackney carriage vehicles – There are 68 licensed hackney carriage vehicles, of which 13 would be negatively impacted by the Euro 5 and Euro 6 requirements.  Under the current policy, 7 of those 13 vehicles would not be able to renew their licences, as 15-year-old vehicles are not allowed to renew their licences.  Under the current policy, within the next two years those 13 vehicles would cease to have a licence.

Private hire vehicles were not affected by the Euro 5 and Euro 6 requirements.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:

·           Councillor Soane stated that some school transport coaches did not meet the Euro 5 and Euro 6 requirements. He wondered about the impact of enforcing that legislation and the potential cost to the Council if those vehicles could no longer operate;

·           Keiran Hinchliffe confirmed that there could be a cost implication to the Council.  However, the policy, as it was currently drafted, allowed for an element of discretion;

·           It was clarified that coaches were not covered by this policy, but minibus type vehicles were;

·           Councillor Burgess stated that in the proposed policy only one provider for drivers’ assessment was listed, this being Blue Lamp.  She believed that there was a long waiting list for this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

To receive and consider the Committee’s Forward Plan and Decision Tracker.

The following items were added to the Forward Plan:

23 January 2024

·           Statement of Licensing Policy 2023/28 (currently out for consultation)

·           Gambling best practice

·           Options around amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy in relation to Euro 5 and Euro 6 legislation for school transport vehicles

RESOLVED That the Forward Plan and Decision Tracker update be noted.