Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Note of the last forum held, Tuesday 25 January 2022 is attached for information.

The note of the last forum was circulated for information.

The Licensing Manager gave an update on this item and explained that 57 consultation responses had been received with 3 responses against the proposals.

The proposed increased Taxi Tariff was due to go before the next full Committee and if approved, would be implemented from 1 April. Officers had contacted all Operators to inform.

The Licensing Manager gave an update and explained there would now be a Sat Nav test, 42 responses had been received to the consultation and it was Officer’s view that Option 3 would be the preferred option.

The Policy would be presented to the next full committee for approval.

The Licensing Manager explained that HMRC checks would now be mandatory and were required by HMRC. The checks would look to confirm that individuals were appropriately registered for tax.

A Driver asked if it would be possible to streamline the process of obtaining a new licence and explained the process was taking two months. In response, the Licensing Manager agreed to look into this and compare the licensing process to other Councils. Another potential option would be to design an inhouse qualification, but this would require an officer obtaining accreditation. The Licensing Manager explained that another option could be to give Driver’s the option to obtain their level three within twelve months of being granted a licence.

All Gateway staff would be trained in Licensing application processes over the next twelve months.