Agenda item

The Director for Neighbourhoods and Environmental Services submits a report on providing the Committee with an update on the Taxi Driver Renewal Process.

Members of the Committee are recommended to note the report and pass any comments to the Director for Neighbourhoods and Environmental Services.

The Director of Neighbourhoods and Environmental Services submitted a report, providing the Committee with an update on the Taxi Driver Renewal Process.

The Licensing Team Manager provided the Committee with a detailed introduction to the report, noting that the current policy had been in place for 6 months. Despite some transition issues, the new system provided taxi drivers with more prior notification regarding renewal deadlines and the ability to submit documentation after the initial submission. The system was now generally working well with fewer drivers having a period where they couldn’t work.

As part of the discussions and response to Member questions it was noted that:

The renewal of a license could be undertaken in a few days if all relevant documentation was provided.

The new process was welcomed if it assisted those drivers who may not speak English as a first language.

The new system had been adapted to be more online based compared to the previous one which was more paper based and face to face. There was however more guidance for drivers taking them through the process and therefore there were few incidences where drivers couldn’t work when in between licenses and there was no renewals backlog.

There was further discussion, particularly in relation to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and medical reports.

The Licensing Team Manager explained that the Council had no control over how long the DBS checks took to be completed, however all drivers would be required to sign up the DBS Update service which meant that unless there had been a material change to their circumstances, e.g. a conviction, a DBS check would not be required going forward. The DBS update service allowed the Licensing Team to check the drivers DBS Status online and at any point.

Concern was expressed about the difficulties that drivers faced in being able to get their Group Two Medical and other medical reports, e.g. Diabetic reports from their own GP. The use of their own GP was council policy as the GP required access to the patient records of the driver. Drivers were experiencing difficulties in making appointments with their GP as many GPs were no longer providing appointments for this purpose as they were classed as private work. An alternative provider was currently in place but drivers needed approval to be referred to this provider by the Licensing Team. In addition, the driver needed to ensure that they took their medical records with them to this appointment. Members were advised that an exercise was current underway to find alternative provision for this requirement and that the ability to provide patient records would be taken into consideration.

A suggestion was made about the development of a key performance indicator (KPI) which monitored the time it was taking for a driver to go through the renewals process, which could assist the Council in providing support for the current process. The Licensing Team Manger commented that each driver had a different experience when going through the process, some were straightforward, others less so.

A further comment was made regarding the new driver application process and it was requested that this be included on the agenda for the next meeting, with consideration regarding a change to the process whereby applications aren’t considered unless all the documentation is completed.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted;

2)    That a further update be provided to the next meeting of the Committee regarding the new medical provider procurement timeline and how medical records would be dealt with under this process;

3)    Consideration be given to the development of a Key Performance Indicator which monitors the performance in terms of time taken to complete the renewal process; and

4)    The new drivers application process be included on the agenda for the next meeting.