Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Dr. Barton, Fonseca and Shelton.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Thomas declared an Other Disclosable Interest in Agenda Item 7, Differential Charging of Wheelchair-Dependent Passengers, and his wife was disabled and a wheelchair user. When she has a hospital appointment she has to use a hackney carriage.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct the interest was not considered so significant that it was likely to prejudice Councillor Thomas’ judgement of the public interest. Councillor Thomas was not therefore required to withdraw from the meeting during consideration and discussion on the item.

Councillor Singh Clair was present as an observer, as he was interested in Agenda Item 6, Consideration of the LEVC TX Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle for Licensing as a Hackney Carriage, as he wanted to see how the low emission vehicle was fit for purpose as a future Hackney Carriage.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2017 are attached and the Commission will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2017 be approved as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations and statements of case had been submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report.

The Committee is recommended to approve the LEVC TX, which is not fully compliant with the conditions of fitness, to be licensed as a hackney carriage provided that Members accept that the benefits of licensing outweigh the disadvantages outlined in paragraph 5 of the report.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report seeking approval of the LEVC TX to be licensed as a hackney carriage.

The Committee was recommended to approve the LEVC TX, which was not fully compliant with the conditions of fitness to be licensed as a hackney carriage, provided that they accepted that the benefits of licensing the vehicle outweighed the disadvantages outlined in paragraph 5 of the report.

The Licensing Team Manager presented the report. Members were asked to note the age policy on the licensing of Hackney Carriages was temporarily relaxed from September 2016 and had been extended to 30^th June 2018, after which anybody with an overage vehicle could only extend a licence if they could prove they had ordered a ULEV vehicle. Members were informed that other vehicles would be brought before the Committee in the future, and the 30^th June date would be reviewed nearer to the time.

The Licensing Team Manager drew attention to the two areas where the vehicle was not fully compliant with the existing conditions of fitness. These were:

a)    The overall width of the vehicle was 1874mm, which exceeded the maximum width of 1845mm specified in Appendix 1 by 29mm.

b)    The seat spacing was 0.448 m with adequate foot room. The minimum width specified in Appendix 1 was 0.48 m, although it may be reduced to 0.435 m provided adequate foot room was maintained at floor level.

c)    The manufacturers had been asked to address those deviations from the conditions of fitness and their response would be reported verbally at the meeting.

In addition a certificate of European Whole Vehicle type approval had been provided for the vehicle.

It was reported the vehicle was checked by Licensing Enforcement Officers prior to the meeting on 5 March 2018. It was noted that there was a third area of non-compliance in that the sliding window between compartments was wider than the condition of fitness at 17cm, although the window was curved.

At 5.51pm the Chair adjourned the meeting to enable Members to inspect the vehicle, which was parked outside of City Hall, At this point the RMT Union representative joined members.

Members inspected the vehicle and observed the operation of the wheelchair ramp and forward facing anchorage points for wheelchairs, the panoramic roof, wi-fi capabilities and charging sockets. Members also received information on the fitted radar and auto-braking system and information on the Volvo engine, battery operation and CO₂ emissions.

At 6.25pm the meeting was reconvened with all Members present who were present when the meeting was adjourned.

Following the inspection of the vehicle, the Chair then invited Alistair Fairgreave, representative of LEVC (formerly known as the London Taxi Company), to provide information on the vehicle, and answer questions from Members and a RMT Union Representative:

·         A driver could choose different options, for example, heated seat, extra storage, reversing camera;

·         Card payment systems – regulations differed in every city, and LEVC were not involved with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report which advised Members of action taken by the Licensing Enforcement Team to ensure that wheelchair dependent passengers using Private Hire Vehicles are not discriminated against through the imposition of additional charges.

The Committee is recommended to note the action take to address discriminatory issues described.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report which advised Members of action taken by the Licensing Enforcement Team to ensure that wheelchair dependent passengers using Private Hire Vehicles were not discriminated against through the imposition of additional charges.

The Committee was recommended to note the action taken to address the discriminatory issues described.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, and drew Members’ attention to recent licensing enforcement intervention, and steps taken to inform operators of their obligations and importance in complying with legislation.

Members were informed that Licensing Enforcement had completed test purchases on two operators who had been the subject of recent complaints, using different names and venues, and there had been no issues.

It was hoped the initial letter and advice had had an effect, and no further complaints had been received since. It was further noted however, that compared to cities like Nottingham and Birmingham, Leicester had not received the same amount of complaints, and had acted on the issue immediately.

Members discussed the issue and stated rates should be on display. They also suggested the driver’s licence number should be on prominent display, and the code of conduct should reflect the instruction to do so. It was noted there was a condition in the code regarding overcharging.

Members were informed that there was legislation which related to wheelchair accessible vehicles. Once a list of those vehicles was compiled, drivers would have a number of obligations in relation to wheelchair passengers, and a further report would be brought to the Committee.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The meeting closed at 7:05pm.