Brighton & Hove City Council
Licensing Committee (NON-LICENSING Act 2003 Functions)
3.00pm 20 June 2024
Council Chamber - BTH
MINUTES
|
Present: Councillors McGregor (Chair), Cattell (Deputy Chair), Pickett (Opposition Spokesperson), Gauge, Hewitt, Lyons, Nann, O'Quinn, Sheard, Thomson and Hill
|
|
Apologies: Councillors Fowler, Helliwell and Mackey
|
1 Procedural Business
(a) Declarations of Substitutes
1.1 Councillor Hill was present in substitution for Councillor Davis.
(b) Declarations of Interest
1.2 There were no declarations of interests in matters listed on the agenda.
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
1.3 The Committee considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any of the items listed on the agenda.
1.4 RESOLVED: That the press and public not be excluded.
2 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
2.1 RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Licensing Committee (Licensing Act 2003 Functions) Meeting held on 13 February be agreed and signed as a correct record.
3 Chair's Communications
3.1 The Chair gave the following communications:
This is the first Licensing Committee of the year, and my first time Chairing. We have already started looking into the Taxi forum with myself and Councillors Cattell and Pickett, and we’re also looking at the changes in Licensing Policy that have come up for 2025.
4 Callover
The following item was called:
Item 7 – Hackney Carriage Private Hire Driver Enforcement and Monitoring
5 Public Involvement
There was none.
6 Member Involvement
There was none.
7 Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Driver Enforcement and Monitoring
7.1 The Chair invited Alex Evans to introduce the report.
7.2 Councillor Hill was informed that:
· Mandatory training has been introduced for taxi drivers regarding safeguarding and drug offences.
· The council work closely with other authorities and Sussex Police on drug offences.
· There are specific forums looking at county line drug offences.
· It’s impossible to gain figures about how many taxis that are licensed by BHCC that operate within BHCC as licensed taxi drivers can operate anywhere in the country.
7.3 Councillor O’Quinn was informed that:
· Action taken against taxi drivers goes on a register called NR3 which is shared with other local authorities.
· Recently, local authorities have started working closer together to align their policies.
7.4 Councillor Cattell was informed that:
· When drivers are licensed with BHCC they are required to use the DBS check service which is checked every 6 months.
· If a driver is in the process of having their DBS check updated, their license likely wouldn’t be revoked.
· Taxi drivers must meet the group 2 medical standards in the name of public safety and is checked by an independent medical advisor.
RESOLVED:
1. That Members note the contents of this report and that officers should continue to act as appropriate.
8 Items Referred For Council
There were none.
The meeting concluded at 4.00pm
|
Signed
|
Chairman |
||
|
Dated this |
day of |
|
|