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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms 2/3, Civic Offices Angel Street Bridgend CF31 4WB. View directions

Contact: Michael Pitman 

Items
No. Item

38.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

None

39.

Approval of Minutes pdf icon PDF 72 KB

To receive for approval the minutes of the 13/08/2019

Minutes:

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the meeting dated 13 August 2019 be approved as a true and accurate record.

40.

National Register Of Taxi Licence Revocations & Refusals (Nr3) pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services presented a report advising the Committee of the functionality of the National Register of Taxi Licence Revocations and Refusals (NR3). He explained that the Local Government Association (LGA) had commissioned the development of a national register of hackney carriage/private hire driver licence refusals and revocations to assist local authorities in determining whether applicants were “fit and proper” to obtain a licence.

 

The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services explained that the NR3 was a mechanism for licensing authorities to share details of individuals who had had a hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licence revoked or an application for one refused. Currently, unless disclosed by the applicant, there was no consistent way of knowing if that applicant had previously been refused or revoked by another Licensing Authority. It was envisaged that the NR3 register would provide a consistent approach towards licensing, increase confidence in the suitability of applicants and potentially increased public safety through assisting the refusal of unsuitable applicants to the taxi/private hire trade.

 

The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services outlined the changes to the current procedure. When a grant or renewal application was received, officers would undertake a search of the NR3 register. If there was a positive result a request would be made to the local authority that made the entry for further information to determine the applicant’s suitability. A draft policy was detailed in appendix B to the report. As the NR3 Register would involve the processing of personal data, the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 principles would need to be followed. He stressed that an applicant would not automatically be refused because there was an entry on the NR3 Register. An entry would indicate there was further information to allow the committee to make a decision on whether or not an applicant was “fit and proper” to obtain a licence.

 

A member raised concerns that the NR3 Register would only cover Wales and that a number of drivers in Bridgend had dual registration with other areas outside Wales. The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services replied that the NR3 Register covered both Wales and England but currently it was voluntary. It was hoped that new draft regulatory guidance would state that all local authorities in England and Wales should adopt NR3.

 

A member asked what arrangements were in place to check applicants from outside the UK. The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services explained that there were standard checks in place regarding criminal records, right to work and the immigration process.

 

A member asked what would happen if an application was submitted using another person’s information. The Operational Manager, Shared Regulatory Services replied that officers requested passport information and other checks to confirm an applicant’s identity.

 

RESOLVED:                That Licensing Committee adopt:

 

a)    the use of the NR3 register and

 

b)    the NR3 Policy detailed in Appendix B with immediate effect.  

               

41.

Urgent Items

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.

Minutes:

None

 

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