St Eds have two plates they wish to issue. The problem they have is with the criteria? The LO gave the council 3 options and it looks like option three was agreed. But by restricting the issue of these two plates to "Taxi license holders, only" are they breaching the law when you consider all the current legislation both "UK and European" in respect of discrimination, etc?
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St Edmundsbury BC
Licensing & Regulatory Committee
15 January 2007
Re-Allocation of Hackney Carriage Plates
1. Recommendation
(1) That a policy of re-allocation of unused Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence Plates be adopted in accordance with the guidelines set out at Appendix A.
2. Corporate Objectives
2.1 Create a safer community and reduce the fear of crime.
3. Key Issues
3.1 The number of plates which St Edmundsbury Borough Council is restricted to is as follows:-
(a) Bury St Edmunds : 25 (plus one disabled access vehicle, Report M300 refers);
(b) Haverhill : 10
3.2 There is no restriction on the number of Hackney Carriage Vehicle licences which can be granted for parts of the Borough outside the zones of Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill.
3.3 At present, the Council has no formal policy on how to re-allocate plates in the Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill zones when vehicles are taken off the road and the Hackney Carriage Proprietor surrenders his plate.
4. Background
4.1 The number of Hackney Carriage Vehicles Licences is restricted in the zones set out below within the Borough of St Edmundsbury which can be granted for:-
(a) Bury St Edmunds : 25 (plus one disabled access vehicle, Report M300 refers);
(b) Haverhill : 10
These zones are limited in area to the boundaries of the former Bury St Edmunds Town Council and Haverhill Urban District Council as they existed before Local Government Reorganisation in 1974.
4.2 Following the implementation of the Transport Act 1985, there is no restriction on the number of Hackney Carriage Vehicle licences which can be granted for parts of the Borough outside the zones of Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill.
4.3 The Transport Act 1985 removed the discretion of Local Authorities to limit the number of hackney carriages which they would licence by providing that: “the grant of a licence may be refused, for the purpose of limiting the number of hackney carriages in respect of which licences are granted, if, but only if, the person authorised to grant licences is satisfied that there is no significant unmet demand for the services of hackney carriages (within the are to which the licence would apply) which is unmet.”
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St Edmundsbury Borough Council has commissioned an Unmet Demand Survey and will be reporting on this matter in the near future.
4.4 St Edmundsbury Borough Council currently has two hackney carriage plates which are unused. A number of individuals have expressed an interest in applying for the grant of these Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences. In the interests of transparency, the officers consider that it would be appropriate to establish a formal policy for accepting applications for Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences in order to re-allocate un-used plates.
4.5 There appear to be no rules governing the issuing of Hackney Carriage plates. Research with other authorities has revealed the options listed below
5. Options Considered
5.1 Option 1
The licence is advertised in the Council’s main offices and all public libraries. The method used is that the Licensing Manager decides the publishing date and sends the adverts to each location under an embargo; all the adverts are then displayed at the same time. The Licensing Services Manager is told at the same time the adverts are displayed and accepts applications on a first come first served basis and sees the first applicant by appointment. The first prospective applicant is then given 14 days in which to provide a vehicle, if they fail the second person who expressed an interest is contacted and given an opportunity to source a vehicle and the same two week period applies. It is essential that a full audit of all actions taken in the procedure is kept.
There would be cost implication in adopting such an approach, as an advertisement in a local paper can cost up to £500, and Members would need to establish which local newspaper(s) would be used for the advertisement. Furthermore, on each occasion that a plate becomes available, a new advertisement would need to be published.
5.2 Option 2
Advertise the new plate and place the name of all eligible drivers in a hat, the Portfolio holder draws a name from the hat. (The contributor of this suggestion mentioned that the Council got some good media coverage out of the procedure.) It would probably be prudent to draw at least one reserve name from the hat in case the original winner turns out to be ineligible later on in the application procedure. There would be cost implication in adopting such an approach, as an advertisement in a local paper can cost up to £500, and Members would need to establish which local newspaper(s) would be used for the advertisement. Furthermore, on each occasion that a plate becomes available, a new advertisement would need to be published.
5.3 Option 3
Offer the plate to the longest serving licensed hackney carriage/private hire driver or operator, who has not held a plate within the past five years, who has made a written request to be included in the list of those interested in obtaining a new plate. The contributor of this suggestion says that the scheme was devised by the licensing panel and there were no complaints from the trade. This scheme does rely on the introduction
of a list for those interested in a new plate. In the first instance, all licensed drivers and operators will be advised of the new procedure and invited to register their interest within one calendar month. A decision on invitations to apply for any existing plates would then be taken.
5.4 The officers consider that Option 3 offers an adequate degree of transparency, whilst not incurring any capital costs on the Council in respect of advertising. A Draft procedure which could be made available to all licensed drivers and operators once licensed is set out at Appendix A.
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7. Resource Implications
7.1 Options one and two have cost implications for the Council in respect of advertising unused Hackney Carriage Plates.
8. Legal or Policy Implications
8.1 It would be appropriate to have a formally adopted procedure for the disposal of any unused Hackney Carriage plates, to increase transparency to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Trade.
Portfolio Holder
Paul Farmer
(01284) 768777
paul.farmer@stedsbc.gov.uk
W:\Democratic WP Services\Committee\Reports\Licensing & Regulatory Committee\2007\07.01.15\Re-Allocation of Hackney Carriage Plates.doc
Appendix A
Allocation of un-used Hackney Carriage Plates.
Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Licensed Drivers and Private Hire Operators who are interested in applying for a Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence should register their interest in writing to:
Licensing Services Manager
St Edmundsbury Borough Council
Borough Offices
Angel Hill
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk IP33 1XB
Interested applicants should complete the pro-forma attached and return it to the Borough offices. A copy of the list of interested applicants will be made available to any member of the public on request.
At the time a Hackney Carriage Plate becomes available, the opportunity to apply will be offered to the individual on the list who is the longest serving licensed hackney carriage/private hire driver or operator, who has not held a plate within the past five years. Please register my interest in applying for a Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence when one becomes available:
Name:
Licence Number:
Date First Licensed:
I understand that this information will be made available to the public for inspection on request, and may be published on the Council’s Website.
Signed:……………………………………..
Date:………………………………………..
W:\Democratic WP Services\Committee\Reports\Licensing & Regulatory Committee\2007\07.01.15\Re-Allocation of Hackney Carriage Plates.doc
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