Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or pecuniary interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Taylor declared a personal interest in agenda item 4 as his employer was surveyed as part of the consultation.

Councillor Taylor also declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 for financial reasons as his employer would be required to pay the late night levy, should it be introduced.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 14th May 2013.

Resolved:           That the minutes of the last meeting held on 14^th May 2013 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Friday 13^th September 2013.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Councils Public Participation Scheme.

This report asks Members to consider responses to a recent consultation carried out regarding a taxi licensing policy.

Members considered a report which outlined the responses to a recent consultation carried out regarding the Council’s taxi licensing policy.

The consultation had sought views on the numbers of hackney carriage vehicles, wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles and low emission hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. 54 people responded to the consultation which was considered to be a low return rate. Details of the responses were outlined at paragraph 9 of the report with 68.5% of the respondents stating they believed York to have enough hackney carriage vehicles and 43% believing York had enough wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Officers outlined the report and advised that the last unmet demand survey carried out in 2011 had indicated that there was no significant unmet demand for hackney carriages in York. The next survey was due to be carried out in 2014. In addition, changes to Licensing legislation were expected to be announced by the Government in the coming months. In light of this, Officers recommended retaining the existing policy and asked that Members reconsider the decision taken in April 2012 to issue two new licences to wheelchair accessible vehicles every six months.

Some Members felt that the Council should offer licences to individuals who could provide a low emissions vehicle as this had been a recommendation of a Scrutiny Task Group which looked into Taxi Licensing provision.

Following discussions, Councillor Watt moved a proposal to issue plates to low emission hybrid vehicle owners if any came forward. When put to the vote, the vote was tied. The Chair used her casting vote and this motion was lost.

Members requested that the next unmet demand survey due in 2014 be carried out during University term time as the student population in York impacts significantly on public transport in the city.

Resolved: (i)       That Option 2 be approved and the existing policy be retained, but with the suspension of the issue of 2 new licences every 6 months for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

                  (ii)       That the next Unmet Demand survey should take place during University term time.

Reason:    (i)       The unmet demand survey carried out in 2011 indicated that there was no evidence of significant unmet demand for hackney carriages in York.  The results of the consultation do not significantly challenge the evidence of the unmet demand survey.  The draft bill regarding reforming the law on taxi and private hire licensing may introduce major changes to legislation and the way taxi and private hire licensing is carried out by authorities.

                (ii)         To ensure the survey is reflective of York at its busiest time.

The purpose of this report is to inform the Committee of the consultation that is currently taking place in relating to potential introduction of a late night levy within the authorities area.

Members considered a report which outlined details of a consultation relating to the potential introduction of a late night levy within the authorities area.

Following a report to Cabinet in February 2013 outlining government proposals for a late night levy and early morning restriction orders, Officers had then been asked by the Cabinet to carry out a consultation in York in relation to the introduction of the late night levy.

The amount of levy has been set at a national level and if introduced it would cover the entire Local Authority area. Revenue from the levy would be split between the licensing authority and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

Members made the following comments:

·        Requested that confirmation be gained from the PCC as to what the Police share of the levy would be spent on, with a preference from the Council to it being spent on Anti Social Behaviour policing.

·        The Council’s percentage of the levy should be used for street cleaning and taxi rank marshals.

·        The Council and the PCC to look into ways the levy could help the accident and emergency department at York District Hospital as they are also affected by alcohol related issues.

·        Discussion took place regarding changing the ‘late night supply period’ from midnight to 6am to 1am to 6am in order not to penalise quieter local pubs in the authority area. It was decided to leave the time at midnight as Members were assured that pubs closing at midnight would not be affected by the levy.

Resolved:           That Members approved Option 1 and instructed Officers to include the views of the committee as detailed above, in the report to be taken to Cabinet.

Reason:              To ensure the views of the committee are considered by Cabinet as part of the decision making process for the introduction of the levy.