Report of the Shared Service Lead – Legal & Deputy Monitoring Officer attached.

The committee considered a report which sought approval to adopt the National Register of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles Revocations and Refusals Register and for the Licensing section to undertake a period of consultation on the proposed adoption.

The council’s Licensing Officer explained that under the current rules, new applicants must advise the Council if they have been refused a licence or had a licence revoked by another local authority. If a driver chose not to disclose this information, there is often no way of finding out. The Local Government Association (LGA) had commissioned the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) to develop and host a register to record all drivers who had either been refused or revoked. Information would be retained on the NR3 for a period of 25 years.

Members received the report positively and agreed that the register had been needed for some time. 

In response to a member query, members were advised that the information on the register was limited and only contained the relevant personal information and the decision taken. If the Council wanted to know the reason behind the decision, they would need to contact the relevant authority and request the information in line with data protection policies.

Members sought clarification on who would be liable for data being inputted into the register which was incorrect. The legal advisor to the committee advised that a written answer would be provided outside of the meeting, detailing the relevant information.

The Council’s Licensing Officer also provided members with an update on the tinted windows policy and modified vehicle policy. Members were advised that although the two policies had recently finished the consultation period, the consultation was to be re-done. Feedback had been provided by the trade that the questions were too technical, and the internet format was not accessible. The consultations will be undertaken again, with the option of a paper format to increase accessibility. Members were advised that a report detailing the outcome of the consultation would be brought before committee at a future meeting.

RESOLVED: (Unanimously)

1.    The proposal to adopt the use of the National Register of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles Revocations and Refusals Register to the current South Ribble Borough Council Taxi Licensing Policy be accepted.

2.    The Committee agreed that the Licensing section undertake a consultation exercise with stakeholders on the proposed adoption of the register.

3.    The Committee agreed to receive a report on the outcome of the consultation exercise at a future meeting.