Agenda item

Attached is a briefing note to update the Licensing Committee  on progress made by the newly formed LAWG and provide an update in relation to the recommendations made by the late-night taxi group as endorsed by the Environment Select Committee on 08 January 2019.

Tom Ince (Compliance and Enforcement Team Leader) referred to the briefing note on the work of the Licensing Authority Working Group that had been circulated with the Agenda.  The following points below were highlighted:

·       The Working Group that was set up in May 2019 had pulled together a list of recommendations/areas to explore and these were being progressed;

·       In relation to the fares/tariff structure, the Taxi Licensing Team met with trade representatives from all areas in June 2019 and advised them that the Council was committed to having one schedule of tariffs and fares across the whole County, but rather than impose this on drivers, the representatives were asked and agreed to survey all the drivers within their areas and put forward a proposal for any new tariff and fare structure for consideration.  Representatives were advised that any new proposals would have to be agreed by the whole trade and which would be required to sign up to any revised proposal.  A deadline of 10 December 2019 was set for this and a meeting is scheduled in September to track progress on this;

·       The proposal to look at making CCTV a mandatory requirement for all taxis within Wiltshire has been explored but there are a number of legal issues regarding the ownership of the data collected.  It would mean that the Council would be responsible for all the data and the management of said data, but the data would not be within in its control.  Officers have received legal advice that CCTV in taxis within Wiltshire would be considered to be best practice but is not mandatory;

·       Uber is a big concern for Wiltshire as they are not licenced with Wiltshire and are therefore not subject to our licence requirements, although they can and do carry out journeys in Wiltshire.  A briefing note for all Members on Uber to explain the situation would be circulated following the meeting;

·       The National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) operates a National database of named taxi drivers who have had their licences refused, suspended or revoked and whilst Wiltshire Council is a member, the Taxi Licensing Team do not currently use the system, but it may be considered to be advantageous to do so.  Currently driver data is not shared with any third party except for the Police in criminal cases.  For the Taxi Team to be included in the NAFN approval would first need to be sought from the Licensing Committee to make changes to the council Driver and Operator Guidelines; and

·       The Licensing Authority Working Group are arranging to meet again in early October 2019.

A Committee Member asked the public would be involved in the fare/tariff discussions.  It was reported that at this stage it was just the trade being asked to put forward a proposal to the Taxi Licensing Team.  The Committee Member felt that the public should be involved in discussions and that Salisbury in particular had a major problem with fare rates.  Tom Ince reminded the Committee there is flexibility with the fares and the tariffs are the maximum rates that can be charged.  Another Committee Member who had been involved with the Environment Select Late Night Taxi Fares Task Group reported that they found that it was the drivers who were causing the problems because they were not using the tariffs and patrons were using those taxis who offered to do the journey at a cheaper rate. 

In relation to Uber, Tom Ince clarified that Uber had not to date applied to trade in Wiltshire and therefore any journeys carried out by Uber are not subject to the Councils checks and requirements on operators and drivers.

A Committee Member asked about the BTEC Level 2 qualification.  It was reported that the current online training option is achieving 100% compliance but concerns have been raised as to whether some drivers are requesting others to complete the training on their behalf.  The Council are currently looking into this with the possibility of providing an in-house training package of courses which would require drivers to personally attend the office for a half-day session as well as meeting with a representative from BTEC to assess its value.  This would be reported on further at the next meeting.

The Licensing Authority Working Group is scheduled to meet on Monday 7 October and a further report of the group would be presented to the next meeting of the Licensing Committee on 2 December 2019.

Resolved:

1.    That the update from the Licensing Authority Working Group be noted.

2.    That an update be provided to the Licensing Committee at their meeting on 2 December 2019.