To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008.

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To receive for approval the minutes of the  25/05/21

RESOLVED:            That the minutes of the Licensing Committee of the 25/05/2021 be approved as a true and accurate record

The Licensing Policy Officer presented a report seeking approval for full electric, wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles involved in the Welsh Government’s Green Fleet Pilot Scheme to be exempt from the specific hackney carriage vehicle licence conditions.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that Welsh Government was introducing a Green Fleet Pilot Scheme in three areas across Wales. The scheme would operate a ‘try before you buy’ initiative, allowing taxi drivers to try a fully electric, wheelchair accessible vehicle for 30 days free of charge. The trial would include free electric charging, insurance, vehicle licensing and breakdown cover funded by Welsh Government. The hackney carriage in question was a wheelchair accessible Nissan Dynamo. She added that on completion of the trial, drivers would be asked to complete an evaluation survey and would be provided with information on schemes/assistance available for long term ownership/lease of zero-emission vehicles.

The Licensing Policy Officer reported that the pilot was intended to assist Welsh Government in achieving its target of de-carbonising the taxi fleet entirely by 2028 as it was hoped it would help taxi drivers to realise the financial and environmental benefits of zero-emission vehicles and in turn contribute to the transition from diesel/petrol vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. The scheme would run for 2-3 years. A full livery had been requested for the hackney carriages involved in this pilot scheme to ensure the initiative was advertised across the area and to encourage others to be a part of the scheme. A copy of the requested advertisement was detailed in Appendix A to the report. In order to facilitate the licensing of vehicles under the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme, it would be necessary to amend the current Bridgend County Borough Council licence conditions for hackney carriages. It was proposed that the relaxation would only apply to those vehicles which formed part of the Pilot Scheme.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained in detail the current conditions in relation to livery, placement of the Licensing Authority's identification door stickers and roof signs and the proposed amendments to the conditions in order to enable licensing of the Green Fleet Pilot vehicles. A 7 day consultation was carried out with the taxi trade via the private hire operators, setting out the proposed changes and asking for any comments. One response was received to the consultation which stated: “Sounds good :) we would like to try one out please, get a few calls for wheel chair accessible buses”

A member asked if the taxi drivers taking part in the scheme were covered under their current licence and insurance or if any amendments had to be made. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that no changes were required to the license and insurance was included in the scheme.   

A member asked why vehicles under the scheme were exempt from being white. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that there had been a request for a specific livery so that all the vehicles could be easily recognised in the three regions and to make drivers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

The Licensing Policy Officer presented a report asking the Committee to consider creating a Statement of Licensing Policy relating to Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators incorporating the statutory standards and recommendations recently published by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Welsh Government.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that in July 2020 the Department for Transport (DfT) published Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards with the focus on the protection of children and vulnerable adults. The DfT stated that following a detailed consultation it was clear there was a consensus that common core minimum standards were required to better regulate the taxi and private hire vehicle sector (appendix A of the report).

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that in March 2020, the Welsh Government published the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle: Licensing Guidance for Wales. This document followed the Welsh Government’s white paper ‘Improving Public Transport’ published in 2018. The aim of the recommendations contained in the document was to provide ‘quick fixes’ to improve the consistency of licensing standards and increase public safety across Wales. The recommendations formed the basis for further development by Welsh Government into national standards. The recommendations were contained in Appendix B. There were 5 reasons outlined by Welsh Government to adopt the recommendations, public safety being the first. The public should be able to expect a licensed driver to be competent, honest, safe and trustworthy. There had been numerous reports in recent years involving child exploitation which had made it clear that weak and ineffective arrangements for taxi licensing in England and Wales left the public at risk; these new recommendations hoped to rectify this by improving public safety across Wales. This also included the safety of vehicles, along with improving the standards set for private hire operators. Other reasons for adopting the recommendations included better consistency of standards across Wales, harmonised enforcement, increased accessibility of vehicles in Wales and better standards of customer service.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that the DfT statutory standards and the Welsh Government's Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing guide would bring about many changes to existing policies and conditions. The main changes were that drivers would be required to join the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Update Service and have a DBS check every 6 months instead of every three years at present. There would be overseas criminal record check for drivers and all new applicants would be required to undergo safeguarding training. They would adopt the Welsh Government's Driver Code of Conduct and update the Private Hire Driver Conditions in line with the Welsh Government's Recommendations.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that with regard to the vehicle, vehicle proprietors would be required to have an annual DBS check. There would be an Overseas criminal record check and they would adopt the Welsh Government’s policy on CCTV and Video Point of Impact Systems (VIPS)/Dashcams in taxis and private hire vehicles and they would impose the Welsh Government’s recommendations for accessibility conditions on vehicle  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

I ystyried unrhyw eitemau o fusnes y, oherwydd amgylchiadau arbennig y cadeirydd o'r farn y dylid eu hystyried yn y cyfarfod fel mater o frys yn unol â Rhan 4 (pharagraff 4) o'r Rheolau Trefn y Cyngor yn y Cyfansoddiad.

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