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RESOLVED:

1.      This Council notes
that:

a)      Milton Keynes City Council
became a White Ribbon Council in November 2022. This status shows
our commitment to the White Ribbon campaign to protect and support
women and girls from abusive and violent behaviour by men and boys.
In gaining this accreditation we, the Council, sought to spread the
support to all departments and sections of our Council and beyond,
into our community.

b)      Milton Keynes City Council
currently licenses approximately 1,500 drivers to provide Private
Hire and Hackney Carriage services. Once a license is acquired, a
driver may operate anywhere in England, provided they are licensed
with an operator in a corresponding local authority
area.

c)      A large proportion of
drivers operating within the city boundaries are licensed by other
Councils, as a result Milton Keynes City Council operates a more
proactive stance regarding compliance and safety auditing, which is
funded by higher licence fees. 

d)      At present all MKCC
drivers are fit and proper persons, (meeting the required local
standards as set out within our policy), and undertake safeguarding
training to ensure they have a better understanding of the abuse
suffered by children and vulnerable adults prior to obtaining their
licence. Whilst remaining within the statutory licensing
procedures, at present this training does not address the issues
raised by White Ribbon.

e)      MKCC receives a high
proportion of complaints from women in regard to inappropriate
behaviour or language by taxi drivers towards female
passengers.

f)       That other councils
such as Newcastle are already promoting White Ribbon to taxi
operators, door security, bar staff and other licenced
facilities.

2.      This Council resolves
to:

a)      ensure that all new
applicants and license holders understand that verbal, physical and
emotional abuse is not tolerated;

b)      encourage all those
experiencing abuse to report this to the Council;
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c)      ask officers to make
appropriate arrangements (in consultation with relevant Portfolio
holder and Regulatory committee chair) to revise the
Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy to include education about
domestic abuse into existing mandatory safeguarding and equality
training for drivers, completion of which is recorded.

d)      invite all those Private
Hire and Hackney Carriage  drivers
licenced by Milton Keynes City Council to become White Ribbon
ambassadors and display the White Ribbon; 

e)      encourage Operators to
promote White Ribbon with their drivers, regardless of the origin
of their licence; and

f)       ask the Portfolio
holder and Regulatory Committee Chair to write to TFL and local
authorities whose vehicles operate in Milton Keynes, to ask that
they consider taking a similar approach.