Eastleigh Borough Council Licensed Transport Forum Meeting

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The Licensing Manager presented the Action List (agenda item 3).

The Licensing Manager informed the Licensed Transport Forum that they would be restarting mystery shopping for enforcement checks in the Borough, which could also be conducted by Southampton City Council licensing officers.

Steve Lucas expressed the trade’s disappointment that there had been no enforcement checks carried out for six months and stated they welcomed it returning.

The trade representatives stated they would prefer enforcement checks to be done by licensing officers known to the trade.

Kevin May queried why there had been no enforcement checks.

The Licensing Manager confirmed that they had not been done due to a multitude of reasons, including time constraints from other workloads and budgeting pressures, but that plans were currently being put into place to rectify these issues.

Roger Vivian expressed disappointment that the restrictions on overtime had held up recruitment and requested if the DBS process could be started earlier for new drivers who were awaiting interviews with the licensing team.

The Licensing Manager and Senior Chartered Legal Executive (FCILEx) agreed to look into the DBS process to see if it was a possibility.

Steve Lucas requested an update on how the safeguarding training was progressing.

The Licensing Manager updated the Licensed Transport Forum that it seemed to be progressing well and that Blue Lamp were training two more people to enable them to release further dates as they were currently fully booked until March

He also mentioned that if any drivers struggled with access to IT that Kevin May was willing to allow drivers to use their systems to complete the training.

Roger Vivian queried why monies linked to the clean air grants had been returned.

The Licensing Manager explained how the scheme had been administrated.

The trade representatives raised concerns that they did not feel that the Southampton City Council side of the licensing team in the licensing partnership supported them enough as Eastleigh Borough Council drivers, and that they felt they were sometimes disadvantaged, e.g. not being allowed to use bus lanes in Southampton.

There was further discussion around how and when the trade thought they had been treated unfairly under the partnership system.

The Licensed Transport Forum confirmed that their position in relation to CCTV in vehicles remained the same.

Steve Lucas queried whether rails were available to hold a top light on an ID4 electric vehicle, which he had recently noticed had the top light secured in a different place to other vehicles.

The Licensing Manager agreed to look into whether they were available and follow up with the driver if they were.

It was agreed the next meeting would take place on the 8 June 2023 in rooms 11/12/13 of Eastleigh House.