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 proprietors of taxis and private hire vehicles. Finally they would commit to reviewing Statement of Licensing Policy every 5 years in accordance with the DfT’s Statutory Standards. It was proposed that a Statement of Licensing Policy relating to Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators should be created. This new document would not only incorporate all the recently published statutory standards and recommendations by the DfT and Welsh Government, but it would also encompass all the other supplementary policies and conditions that related to taxi and private hire licensing. This would hopefully simplify matters for applicants and licensees as all the necessary documentation would be available in once place. It was envisaged that the Statement of Licensing Policy would detail all the taxi and private hire related policies as appendices making any required future changes easy to accommodate. This would mean that the Committee would be able to review an appendix rather than the whole document every time a change was required.

A member referred to the requirement for a DBS check every 6 months instead of every 3 years and he added that that could be onerous for the applicant. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that this was one of the recommendations from Welsh Government and that it currently cost around £40 to get a check. If the applicant used the DBS Update Service then they would pay £14 per year. This cost was minimal in relation to public safety and in their best interests and easier for the authority to administer.

A member welcomed the report and the proposed changes and added that they could not be tight enough when it came to safeguarding children. This was a bold step forward and he fully supported it.

A member raised concerns about the statement “fit and proper person” which he believed should be changed to something more appropriate.  

RESOLVED

Committee:

a)   Considered the statutory standards published by the Department for Transport (DfT) as well as the recommendations published by Welsh Government in relation to Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing.

 b)    Approved the need to create an all-encompassing Statement of Licensing Policy relating to Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Vehicle, Drivers and Operators incorporating the aforementioned standards and recommendations.