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.

None

To receive for approval the minutes of the Licensing Committee and Licensing Act 2003 Committee of the 06/10/2020

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Licensing Committee and Licensing Act 2003 Committee of the 06/10/2020, be approved as a true and accurate record

The Team Manager Licensing presented a report which:

• Reported back to the Committee on the results of the consultation carried out in respect of the maximum age at which hackney carriage and private hire vehicles may be licensed for the first time, and once licensed, the frequency at which they are tested;

• Considered an amendment to the Age Policy Guidelines (APG) in respect of the maximum age at which hackney carriage and private hire vehicles may be licensed for the first time;

• Considered a proposal to amend the testing frequency of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles

• Considered a proposal to amend the vehicle testing and compliance procedure for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles.
•  

The Team Manager Licensing explained that the impetus for reviewing the policy came from the local trade who indicated that the current policy requiring vehicles presented for their first licence to be new or nearly new, placed a significant economic burden on the trade, whilst providing a marginal benefit in terms of public safety.

She explained that the current policy regarding vehicle age was introduced and approved by the Licensing Committee on 10^th March 2008.

She outlined that the current policy stated that applicants for the first licensing of a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle should be submitted to the Council within 14 days of the first registration of the vehicle at the DVLA. The mileage at the time of application should be no greater than 500 miles so the majority of vehicles were new when they were first licensed. Details of the current age policy were detailed in Appendix A of the report.

The Team Manager Licensing explained that any changes to the age policy had an impact on the vehicle testing regime. With the majority of vehicles new at first application, the current policy requires 2 tests per year for vehicles up to 5 years old, and 3 tests per year for vehicles over 5 years old.

Hackney carriage and private hire vehicles were tested at the Ty Richard Thomas Joint Vehicle Maintenance Facility, jointly utilised by South Wales Police and the Council as the approved testing station for licensed vehicles in Bridgend.

The Team Manager Licensing explained that in response to trade views, a consultation was carried out by way of a questionnaire, seeking the views from the trade and public on proposed changes to the age and testing policies for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. A copy of the questionnaire was included in Appendix B and the responses were detailed in Appendix C. She summarised the 19 responses to the Committee that were detailed in section 4.7 of the report.

The Team Manager Licensing outlined the variations between the vehicles ages licenced within Bridgend compared with those licenced in other local authorities in South Wales as outlined in section 4.9 of the report.

She added that the consensus that the reasons for an age policy, such as improved comfort and improved safety standards, should apply to all saloon  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

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.

None