Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Public Protection which seeks approval to publish fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licences to take effect from 1 May 2014.

The Food, Licensing and Markets Manager introduced a report which asked Members to determine the level of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licence fees for 2014/15. 

The Committee was informed that following publication on 24 January 2014 of proposed fees to take effect from 1 April 2014 and consultation with the trade, that three representations had been received which had necessitated referral of the matter to Members for decision.  One of the objections had challenged the accuracy of the proposed published fees and this had led to further analysis of income and expenditure.  The audit had resulted in a revised journal being produced at Appendix 6 to the report highlighting the financial outcome for 2012/13.  Members were also provided with projected figures for future years.

The Food, Licensing and Markets Manager explained that the proposed published fees incorporated a new charge for the work involved with an application for an exemption for private hire vehicles from displaying plates and signage where they were conducting executive or chauffeur work.  The proposed fee for this type of application was £50 to take effect from 1 May 2014.  Members were further advised that in the case where an operator had multiple applications at the same time for executive vehicle exemptions they could consider an alternative method of charging by setting a reduced fee of £20 as the bulk of the administrative work would have been undertaken with the first vehicle application for exemption.  Members noted that it was currently estimated that there were only 3 vehicles that were likely to incur a fee.  The Food, Licensing and Markets Manager confirmed that all other fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licences would remain the same.

The Chair summarised the decisions that needed to be taken by Members:-

1.         To decide whether to introduce a £50 fee for applications to exempt private hire vehicles from the requirement to display plates and signage where they were conducting executive work.

2.         Should Members introduce the £50 fee for exemptions they needed to      decide if they wished to reduce the fee to £20 for any subsequent exemption applications from an operator at the same time.

3.         To decide whether all other fees should stay the same for 2014/15.

4.         To confirm that once the proposed published fees for hackney Carriage and        Private Hire licences had been agreed that they should take effect from 1           May 2014.

The Committee debated the proposal to introduce the new fee for applications for exemptions and concurred that it was unfair to ask operators to pay the extra fee at this time.  In reaching this decision, Members were mindful of the small number of vehicles which would be eligible to apply for the exemption and the revenue implications of introducing the charge.  Members considered that the matter should be reviewed in twelve months’ time when the opportunity could be taken to charge retrospectively for any surge in applications for exemptions in order that the Council could recover its costs.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That there should be no introduction of an Operator Exemption Fee to Display Vehicle Licence Plates and Signage at this time.

(2)       That all the other proposed published fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licences as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be approved to take effect from 1 May 2014.

(3)       That the level of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licence fees be reviewed in 12 months’ time.