Limited support for Rother
We do not currently provide detailed weekly summaries for Rother Council. Running the service is expensive, and we need to cover our costs.
You can still subscribe!
If you're a professional subscriber and need support for this council, get in touch with us at community@opencouncil.network and we can enable it for you.
If you're a resident, subscribe below and we'll start sending you updates when they're available. We're enabling councils rapidly across the UK in order of demand, so the more people who subscribe to your council, the sooner we'll be able to support it.
If you represent this council and would like to have it supported, please contact us at community@opencouncil.network.
Licensing and General Purposes Committee - Wednesday 22nd May 2024 6.30 pm
May 22, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
The meeting focused on changes to taxi licensing policies and correcting an error in driver fees.
Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy
Richard Parker-Harding presented proposed changes to the taxi licensing policy, which had been consulted on with both the trade and the public. The key changes discussed were:
Annual Refresher Training for Drivers: The committee had previously agreed on compulsory training for drivers on disability awareness, customer attitudes, and safeguarding. The new proposal was to introduce annual refresher training. While the majority of drivers opposed this, most passengers supported it due to poor experiences. The committee decided to proceed with the annual refresher training.
Age Limit for Vehicles: The current age limit for vehicles is 10 years. To encourage the use of electric, hybrid, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles, the proposal was to extend the age limit to 15 years. This was generally supported and will be implemented.
Tinted Windows: The committee discussed the issue of tinted windows, which has been controversial. The new proposal, guided by government best practice, allows tinted windows with a minimum of 30% tint or the same tint front and rear. This was accepted.
Uniform Body Colour for Hackney Carriages: The proposal was to make all Hackney carriages white to distinguish them from private hire vehicles. The trade disagreed, and only a small majority of passengers supported it. The committee decided not to proceed with this change but will revisit it in two years.
Dual Driver Fees
Richard Parker-Harding also addressed an error in the previous fees report. The fees for 2022 were included instead of the 2023-24 fees. The corrected report proposed a 5% increase in driver fees, effective immediately. The committee approved this increase.
Additional Discussions
- Limiting the Number of Taxi Licenses: Councillor Timpley raised the issue of not limiting the number of taxi licenses. Richard Parker-Harding explained that legally, the number of Hackney carriage licenses can be limited only if an unmet demand survey proves sufficient numbers are operating. This is difficult to prove in district areas and would incur costs borne by the drivers.
The meeting concluded with the approval of the proposed changes and fee adjustments.
Attendees
Topics
No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.