Agenda item - Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Enforcement Report

Report of the Executive Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities (copy attached).

RESOLVED –

1.     That the Committee approves the proposed fare increases of 5% rather than the 3.5% originally requested and authorises the Head of Safer Communities to advertise the proposed variation in fares and invite any objections in accordance with the legal requirements.

2.     That the Committee agrees that if no objections are made, or if any objections which are made are withdrawn, the varied table of fares will come into force in accordance with the statutory scheme.

3.     That the Committee reconsiders the matter at the next meeting of this Committee if valid objections are made but not withdrawn. As there are strict legal timescales relating to fare reviews a special meeting of this Committee may be required.

26.1    The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities, which had been requested by Members to update them on enforcement action taken against Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers and Applicants, between October 2021 and January 2022. The report was presented by the Licensing and Enforcement Officer.

26.2    The Licensing and Enforcement Officer informed Members that Omnicron had affected resources for the multi-agency operation referenced at 3.6 of the report.  However, he was pleased to report that 42 licensed vehicles had been stopped including those from other districts.  The majority of vehicles were compliant and further operations would be run later in the year.  

26.3    The Licensing and Enforcement Officer drew Members’ attention to 3.7 of the report which referenced complaints received about drivers sitting on the south side of Brighton Station.  A joint letter from Councillor Davis and Jim Whitelegg was sent to the trade on 4^th January 2022.  Their advice had been taken on board and the number of complaints had since reduced. 

26.4    Councillor O’Quinn had noticed that some drivers kept their engines idling whilst parked and asked if this was included in the measures.  The Licensing and Enforcement Officer said there had been numerous complaints about this over the years.  He explained that most modern engines now cut out when stationary, but the engine had to remain running if the driver wanted to activate the heating or air conditioning.

There was no enforcement policy in place for this currently but if the problem intensified officers would look into it.  Councillor O’Quinn said this was also a problem with council vehicles.  The Licensing and Enforcement Officer would pass Councillor O’Quinn’s concerns to drivers employed by the council. 

26.5    Councillor Appich was concerned that taxis, mostly those from out of town, parked on pavements that had been widened for pedestrians.  This was particularly noticeable on Kingsway.  She asked if Lewes Taxis could be written to and asked to refrain from doing this. 

26.6    Councillor Appich reported there were still taxis dropping taxi passengers at the bus stop by the train station which was making busses late.  Bus drivers should be encouraged to report this. 

26.7    The Chair echoed Cllr Appich’s concerns and noted the difficult road layout in the area of the station.  She had received a complaint from a resident who was unhappy about taxis dropping off customers directly outside his house.  She felt the station should take more responsibility in addressing these issues given that many of those being dropped off in this area were rail users.  She asked officers to look into this.   

26.8    Councillor Moonan asked if licences were reissued to drivers whose licenses had been revoked.  The Licensing and Enforcement Officer explained that licence applications were treated on their individual merits.  It would be down to the applicant to prove they were fit and proper and officers would run a number of background checks including an enhanced DBS.  If a licence had been revoked on the basis of a suspected offence, it would be kept under constant review. 

26.7    Cllr O’Quinn asked for more out of town taxis to be targeted when carrying out enforcement action.  The Licensing and Enforcement Officer agreed.  He explained they rely on the Police to carry out the initial stops and the Police were aware that licenced vehicles across the spectrum were to be targeted.

26        RESOLVED: That the Committee agree the report be noted.