Minutes:
The Committee received a paper which had been produced by a Licensing and Appeals Panel that had been hearing appeals in relation to suspensions of hackney carriage licences.
Julia O’Brien explained that last year it was brought to the Licensing Authority’s attention the fact that the documentation required to prove that a vehicle was wheelchair accessible did not guarantee that a vehicle was compliant with the policy. As a result it was decided that checks would have to be carried out. The Licensing Team started the process by checking the vehicles that were more likely to be in breach of the policy. 17 cars were checked last November, 9 failed the test and had their licenses suspended, 6 had appealed to the decision. There were approximately 100 hackney carriages in the fleet and it was the Licensing Authority’s intention to carry out tests with all of them.
Laura Driscoll stated that the proposed new policy included measurements (page 35 of the agenda), and that future panels could use these to guide them in making their decisions.
During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:
· Councillor Ferris stated that it was necessary to include measurements in the policy;
· The Chairman stated that the vehicles concerned had never carried wheelchair passengers;
· Councillor Richards stated that some drivers had been licensed for 10-12 years and were now having their licence suspended, with no changes in policy;
· Councillor Richards stated that the Panel had tried to be consistent and to consider the loss of income to the drivers;
· In response to a question Julia O’Brien stated that it had been a Council decision that the entire fleet of hackney carriage had to be wheelchair accessible;
· Councillor Haines stated that in his experience wheelchair users would call and organise a taxi in advance, wheelchair users were unlikely to hail a cab. He also noted that Ford Galaxi’s were some of the biggest cars available and still they were not big enough for a wheelchair;
· The Chairman stated that it was expected that drivers would have their cars modified in order to make them wheelchair accessible;
· Councillor Wayne was concerned that there were a further 80 vehicles to be checked and this was a very difficult situation which could potentially generate a high number of appeals;
· In response to a question Laura Driscoll stated that most hackney carriage drivers were self-employed;
· Councillor Ferris pointed out that the documentation provided to the drivers was confusing and he was concerned wiht possible legal challenges;
· Councillor Jarvis pointed out that converting vehicles was very costly and he was concerned that the fleet may reduce significantly;
· Laura Driscoll explained that the Local Authority could create a list of wheelchair accessible vehicles;
· Councillor Richards suggested the introduction of two levels of approval: one for vehicles that could take a folded up wheelchair, for those passengers that were able to sit in the car; and one for those that could take a wheelchair in the back of the car;
· Laura Driscoll explained that hackney carriages had to be wheelchair accessible, private hire vehicles did not; and
· In response to a question Roxana Khakinia, Legal Advisor to the Appeals Panel, stated that each case had been determined on its own merits.
Members were concerned that this issue had to be resolved in a timely manner. After much discussion it was agreed that the whole fleet would be tested (but no further suspensions would be issued yet), and that the Committee would be informed of how many vehicles were not compliant with the policy. The Committee would make any necessary recommendations based on this information and the consultation that was due to be carried out.
The Chairman stated that if necessary an extraordinary meeting would be convened to discuss the criteria policy for licensed vehicles.
RESOLVED That:
1) The Committee would be kept informed on the development of the criteria policy for licensed vehicles;
2) The Committee would be kept informed on the outcome of appeals hearings;
3) An extraordinary Licensing Committee meeting would be convened if necessary.