Eastleigh Borough Council Licensed Transport Forum Meeting

The Chair welcomed the Licensed Transport Forum members and introduced himself.

RESOLVED –

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

The Licensing Officer sent a copy of the events planned at the Ageas to be attached to the minutes.

It was agreed that the Safeguarding and Enforcement Summary could be removed from the Action List as long as they remained as a standing item on the agenda.

The Senior Licensing Officer presented the Enforcement Summary (agenda item 5), and updated the Forum that they had undertaken mystery shopping on Friday and had found some drivers were not adhering to the dress code. Written warnings were issued to those drivers.

Steve Lucas requested an update on whether the safeguarding course providers could provide a start time of 10am so it did not affect school run drivers.

The Senior Licensing Officer updated the Forum that the provider now offered a range of times for drivers to pick from.

Kev May queried if he still needed to provide Individual Vehicle Assessments (IVAs) to the depot. He wanted to confirm whether a full system certificate and qualified fitter certificate negated the need for the IVA.

It was agreed that the depot would accept the system certificate and qualified fitter certificate in place of an IVA.

Kevin May queried why employed drivers still needed to provide a Unique Taxpayer Reference to prove they were registered to pay tax when their tax was being paid by the employer.

The Licensing Manager confirmed they were needed at present, but that the licensing team were making enquiries into the situation and that he would update the Forum if anything should change.

An email was read out on behalf of Jason Kauder requesting hackney carriage vehicles have door stickers added to them to aid identification, and that private hire vehicles owned by the registered driver and operator in the borough are banned from displaying the driver’s phone number and details.

A discussion took place around the current top lights, which include the borough crest, and whether the Forum thought that anything further was necessary to identify a hackney carriage vehicle.

The Licensing Manager explained the rules around when a private hire vehicle would be classed as plying for hire.

The Licensing Manager confirmed that Update on Introduction of CCTV would stay on the agenda as a standing item for the foreseeable future and that drivers were always recommended or encouraged to have CCTV fitted, but at this time it would not be mandated.

The Senior Licensing Officer also added that it was in the new policy handbook that CCTV was allowed and encouraged but the Information Commissioner’s Office guidelines must be followed for anyone who does have it fitted.

It was agreed that legal would review any judicial decisions around the recommendation for CCTV to ensure the guidelines were fully understood.

An email was read out from Jason Kauder stating that this item was mistakenly requested to be added by him too early and it should be added to the first agenda after the government’s consultation on door stickers.

An email was read out from Roger Vivian requesting an extension to the time period on vehicles, which currently stands at 12 years.

There was a discussion around whether the Forum thought any changes to the maximum age, or the age a vehicle can be plated, needed to take place.

It was agreed that there was no need to change the age limit to vehicles.

An email was read out from Roger Vivian stating concerns about the current bays being used at Eastleigh House to plate vehicles, and requesting confirmation of the amount being charged for the office space now being used.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated there had been some teething issues when they first moved to Eastleigh House, but they were working with facilities and parking services to address these and it was improving.

It was agreed that the costs of the office space would be available for the next meeting on 10 November 2022.

Steve Lucas requested further information and breakdown on what the licensees pay for at the depot as he had concerns they were paying more than before.

It was agreed that the Finance Business Partner would look into it and respond.

An email was read out from Roger Vivian raising concerns that the need to complete BTEC courses was hindering the employment of drivers.

There was discussion around the difficulty in booking BTEC courses.

The Licensing Manager stated that the need for the course would be reviewed once the DfT had issued their Best Practice Guidance later in the year, but in the meantime each case would be looked at on an individual basis and discretion, in agreement with the Legal Services Manager, could be used for each case.

An email was read out from Roger Vivian asking how many drivers had left the trade due to the pandemic and how many were going to leave because of the requirement to prove they were registered to pay tax. He also asked how many drivers had started recently.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated it was impossible to know the reasons each individual driver had left, but approximately 100 drivers had left the trade in Eastleigh. He added that it is hard to know how many would leave due to being registered to pay tax, but it was a requirement that needed to remain.

The Senior Licensing Officer said he had not yet worked out how many new drivers there were, but it had been picking up over the last few weeks.

Steve Lucas questioned whether it was possible to have a minimum credit/debit card transaction amount of £5 per journey.

Comments were read out from an email from Jason Kauder.

The Licensing Manager stated that it was not possible as it would be in breach of the terms of the agreement with the card payment machine provider.

Steve Lucas stated that they had consulted with 108 hackney carriage drivers to ask them whether they wanted to request a tariff increase, of which 89% had responded. Of the 89% that responded, 86% had voted for an increase.

Comments were read out from an email from Jason Kauder.

The Licensing Manager explained there was a process that needed to be followed before an increase could be agreed, which included a consultation period. He added that the licensing team would support an increase.

It was agreed the next meeting would take place on the 10 November 2022 in rooms 11/12/13 of Eastleigh House.