Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members in accordance with the code of conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2019.

The Committee agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2019 are confirmed as a correct record.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

The Director for Public Health will submit a report for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licence Fees.

Rachael Hind (Licensing Service Manager) advised the Committee that Following the Taxi Licensing Committee on 10 January 2019, the proposed fees were advertised in the Plymouth Herald on Tuesday 15 January 2019.  All taxi drivers, vehicle proprietors and operators were written to and provided with a copy of the fees notice and were given until 30 January 2019 to make objections.

82 objections were received including an objection from the Plymouth Licensed Taxi Association (PLTA).  The objections are included in Appendix 4.          The report details the main objections raised as part of the consultation and the objections have all been responded to within the Appendix.

At the Taxi Licensing Committee on 28 February 2019 the Committee agreed to defer the decision to set fees to allow officers to check the assertions made in a letter from a legal representative of the Plymouth Licensed Taxi Association (PLTA) which was received by email on 25 February 2019.

The contents of the letter have been considered in detail and further legal advice sought by the Council.  The Council is satisfied that, whilst maintaining two trading accounts, there is sufficient information to ensure that, for each licence there has been no cross subsidisation and that any surpluses and deficits have been carried forward appropriately.

There is no legal requirement for the local authority to keep five separate trading accounts (one for each licence), however the Council is happy to present the accounts in this way in the future.  Appendix three has been restated to reflect the five classes of licence.

The fee structure must be approved today by Committee Members to ensure they come into effect within two months from the date of the advertised consultation. 

The Hackney Carriage and Private Hire accounts have been reviewed and the fees must be increased to ensure that any deficit is addressed.  Both accounts are separate trade accounts and should be paid for from the licence fees and not from the Council’s general funds.  Therefore it is important that the fees are set to ensure any deficit is addressed.  The financial implication of these proposed fee increases is to ensure the Council covers the full costs of providing the service in so far as consistent with the particular provisions which allow licence fees to be charged.

The fee levels in this report have been set to ensure the Hackney Carriage Driver and Vehicle accounts come into balance by 2024 (subject to further increases in subsequent years); the Private Hire Driver and Operator Accounts both remain in a surplus position and the vehicle account returns to an acceptable surplus position by the end of the financial year 2021/22.

If the Council does not increase the fees, both elements of the Hackney Carriage trading account which are forecasted to be in deficit by the end of the financial year (2018/19) will continue to run at a deficit.  The Private Hire Operator and Drivers Licence Accounts are predicted to remain in a small surplus position; the Private Hire Vehicle  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Agreed that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 of Part I Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To confirm the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2019.

The Committee agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2019 are a correct record.