Agenda item

The Senior Licensing Officer presented a report on the proposed amended Taxi and Private Hire Conditions and Vehicle Testing Arrangements.   The Committee on 8 May 2012, having considered consultation results and the research undertaken, had resolved not to introduce age limits on Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles and to remove the existing three year lower age limit on Hackney Carriages, pending the introduction of conditions to ensure a good standard of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles is maintained in the town.  A Working Party had been established, with trade representatives as members, to work towards developing these conditions.  There had been agreement on the majority of issues in the proposed conditions, although there were a small number of areas where agreement had not been reached with the trade representatives.  Representations received after the proposed conditions had been circulated to the trade were appended to the report for Members’ consideration.

The proposed conditions were appended to the report and it was estimated that, if agreed, they would commence on 1 April 2013.

Mr K Willsher (trade representative on the Working Party) addressed the Committee.  He referred to the 1.6mm for tyre tread and 1.5mm for brake wear recommended in the DfT and Technical Officer Group Report (TOGR) for Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles, whilst officers were recommending 2mm in each case.  He stated that he had provided mileage figures of 30-40K miles per year for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles and that national guidelines were for one MOT test per year for low mileages, which he suggested these were.  He stated that there would be difficulties if either of the Council’s MOT testing stations were out of action, say through flooding, and drivers had to use other stations since the conditions imposed more stringent measures than were legally required.  He also stated that inspections of tyre tread and brake wear were inspected visually and were not actually tested.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that the mileages of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles had been shown in the research undertaken by him to be higher than those suggested by the trade representatives.

Mr M Jadoon (trade representative on the Working Party) addressed the Committee.  He stated that the most vulnerable people in society tended to use taxis and those who could not afford to buy and run a car of their own.  Increasing the costs to taxi drivers through changing conditions would affect taxi users.  He stated that the national guidelines and conditions should be used rather than creating conditions for Northampton as they were based on a better understanding of the overall situation and they did not recommend 2 MOT tests per year based on the mileages the trade representatives stated were being driven by Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles in Northampton.

The Chair stated that the Committee had agreed on 8 May 2012 that the 2 MOT tests should remain.  If there was substantial evidence to support one MOT only per year that could be presented to the Committee as a separate matter but no such evidence had been provided.

Mr J Hills (Secretary of the Northampton Hackney Carriage Drivers Association) addressed the Committee.  He stated that as Secretary of the Hackney Carriage Association he believed he should have been a member of the Working Party, along with the Association’s Chairman.  He stated that he had previously spoken strongly about the abolition of the three year rule age limit on for Hackney Carriage on first plating and that this would lead to an influx of large numbers of low quality vehicles in the town.  He referred to the lengthy financial obligations many drivers had in purchasing vehicles, particularly in the current economic climate, and how they would be adversely affected by this influx.  He circulated a paper suggesting a compromise proposal that if the three year rule were to be abolished this should be phased in over a five year period to ease hardships on existing drivers and asked that this be considered by the Committee.  He spoke of the impact the significant reduction in Hackney Carriage rank spaces at the railway station when works commenced there in January 2013 would have on drivers’ livelihoods.  He also referred to poor communication with officers of the Council and suggested that the Working Party’s agenda should have been set by the trade representatives, rather than officers.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that he had no evidence that removing the three year age limit would significantly increase the number of older Hackney Carriages in Northampton as the vehicles would all be subject to the MOTs and Council Inspections and Hackney Carriage drivers would have to pass Hackney Carriage Driving Tests.

Mr P Bruere (Chairman of the Northampton Hackney Carriage Drivers Association) addressed the Committee.  He stated that removing the three year rule would lead to an influx of low quality vehicles into Northampton as drivers would purchase older, less expensive vehicles.  He stated that the abolition proposals had never had a fair hearing.  He had asked for a copy of the notes of the Committee meeting on 8 May 2012 which had considered the issue to compare against the minutes of the meeting but had not received them.  He stated that there had been no transparency and that a note had been placed on the Council’s website after the 8 May 2012 meeting stating that the three year rule had been abolished.  He stated that he had spoken to the officers and said they had amended the message.

The Chair stated that there had been an opportunity for anyone who disagreed with the minutes of the meeting on 8 May 2012 to raise issues at the following meeting but no one had done so.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that after Mr Bruere had contacted him he had amended the message on the Council’s website to clarify that the rule year rule was being removed pending the introduction of vehicle conditions and testing.  He clarified that it was not he who inputted the information onto the website.

Mr S Ward addressed the Committee.  He was satisfied with the broad sweep of the proposals but would have liked to see an upper age limit on Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles.  He drew attention to some minor inconsistencies between the conditions booklet and the guidelines, particularly in relation to the size of fire extinguishers and roof signs and a number of similar issues.

The Senior Licensing Officer undertook to meet Mr Ward to resolve the inconsistencies in the documentation.

Mr H Shah (trade representative on the Woking Party) then addressed the Committee.  He referred to his letter of 23 November 2012 which was appended to the agenda.  He stated that the current standards in Northampton were higher than the national guidelines and that the proposals would raise them still higher.  He referred to the Department of Transport’s Best Practice Guidance which warned that too restrictive an approach could work against the public interest and have safety implications.  The officers had not researched this area.  He stated that the mileage figures provided by the officers were flawed, as set out in his letter.  He suggested that officers should have examined if there had been any complaints from members of the public regarding Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles.  He stated that there was no evidence of a problem and that the Council needed good reasons to diverge from the Best Practice Guidance.  He stated that he had not been instructed to look at the proposed age limits but that strong feelings had been raised about them.  There was a need to look at the proposed conditions and the intention in seeking to introduce them.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that the Council’s intention in introducing the proposed conditions was to maintain the Standards of Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles in Northampton.  The MOT failures indicated a high failure rate, which was based on the condition of vehicles rather than their age.  This was why the Committee had decided on 8 May 2012 that there was no need to introduce an age limit on vehicles.  Many other local authorities operated a system of 2 MOTs per year for Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles.  He was not aware of any reason why the mileage figures he had supplied to the Committee could be regarded as flawed.

The Committee considered that legal and technical advice should be sought on the issues raised by the public speakers.  It was agreed that there should be a short adjournment and the Committee would reconvene in private session to receive that advice.

The Chair moved that the public and press be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined by section 100(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 by reference to Paragraph 3of Schedule 12A to such Act.  The motion was carried.

The Committee took technical advice from the Senior Licensing Officers, who then left the room.  The Solicitor then provided legal advice to the Committee.

The Committee then resumed in public session.

The Chair then explained that the Senior Licensing officers had remained in the room to provide technical advice to members and then left the room.  The Solicitor had remained present throughout to provide legal advice to Members.

The Committee considered that the three year age limit on Hackney Carriages should be abolished, as resolved on 8 May 2012, but that the comments raised by Messrs Hill and Bruere, regarding a phased abolition, should be taken into account, in particular the hardship caused to those committed to five year finance plans, and the abolition be phased in over a three year period.

Members stated that their paramount interest was public safety and that the 2 MOT test per year should be retained and the 2mm limits for tyre tread and brake wear.  They asked the officers to discuss with Mr Ward the inconsistencies in the documentation which he had referred to in his address.

It was noted that the new conditions would take effect on 1 April 2013 (but then agreed 1 January 2013), following consultations with the 2 MOT testing stations, and that the abolition of the age limit and a number of other decisions made by the Committee on 8 May 2012, which had been pending the introduction of the new conditions, would come into effect when the conditions were implemented.

The Committee thanked all parties who had attended the Working Party and tonight’s meeting.  It was agreed that a communication on the Committee’s decision tonight would be sent to operators for information.

RESOLVED:

1. That the abolition of the three year age limit for new Hackney Carriages to be introduced in Northampton be phased in over a three year period, taking into account the comments made to the meeting by Mr Hills and Mr Bruere.  These should be as follows:

a.      Until December 31 2013 all first plated Hackney Carriages must be less than 3 years old;

b.      Between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014 all first plated Hackney Carriages must be less than 4 years old;

c.      Between January 1 2015 and December 31 2015 all first plated Hackney Carriages must be less than 5 years old;

d.      That there be no lower age limit for Hackney Carriage Vehicles from 1 January 2016.

2.    That the amended Taxi and Private Hire Conditions be adopted and the Vehicle Testing Standards, both as set out in the report, be approved, including maintaining two scheduled vehicle tests per year.

3.    That the resolutions made by the Committee on 8 May 2012, as set out below, are implemented from 1 January 2013:

a.     That there be no age limit imposed on Private Hire Vehicles and there be a removal of age limits on Hackney Carriages (as amended at resolution 1 above);

b.     That engine capacity restrictions be removed;

c.      That the current requirement for 2 MOT tests per year be maintained;

d.     That newly registered vehicles at the DVLA that are subsequently licensed operate for a full 12 months without the requirement to be routinely tested following their initial plating.

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