Purpose

The
Council, as the Licensing Authority under the Town Police Clause
Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
1976, has responsibility for the licensing of Hackney Carriages and
Private Hire vehicles, drivers and
operators within its district.
 
In
July 2020 the Department for Transport published its Statutory Taxi
and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Standards. In the Standards the
Department recommended that all licensing authorities make publicly
available a cohesive policy document that brings together all their
procedures on taxi and private hire licensing.
 
Officers have prepared a draft policy which brings together all
the Council’s current policies and procedures into one
document; including amendments to the policies and conditions in
respect of the Greater Manchester Minimum Licensing Standards which
were adopted by the Council in 2021.
 
The
report proposes the Council adopt this new overarching Hackney
Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to be effective from the
1st December 2023; and to be
reviewed every five years.
 

Decision

1)   
That the content of the report be
noted;
 

2)   
That the approval of
the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy
which includes the amendments detailed at 3.19 be recommended to
Council;
 

3)   
That the delegation of authority to the Corporate
Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for
Communities and Safety to bring the implementation date for vehicle
age and emission standards (for existing licensed vehicles) forward
from 1st April 2026 should it be deemed appropriate in
support of the Clean Air agenda be recommended to
Council.