Regulation - Wednesday 9 January 2008

Present at the Meeting:

• Councillor J B Baldwin (Chairman)
• Councillor P Prescott
• Councillor J Eccles-Churton
• Councillor W Wilkes
• Councillor Mrs J M Peet

73 Apologies for Absence: Councillors S C Barnes, M Baines, Mrs J Birch, W Carney, Dr C Cottam, G A Fairhurst, J Hilton, B Merry, A Robinson and W Rotherham.

74 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 28 November 2007 were approved as a correct record.

75 Exclusion of the Public – Section 100a Local Government Act 1972: Resolved: The public is excluded from the meeting when the Committee discusses the following items for the reasons set out below:

Items not subject to confirmation by the Council:

76 Minutes of the Regulation Sub Committee: Resolved: The Committee confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Regulation Sub and Ad Hoc Committees held on 5 December and 12 December 2007as set out below:-

Regulation Sub Committee

5 December 2007

Present at the Meeting:

Councillor B Baldwin (Chair)

Councillor B Merry

Councillor W Rotherham

76.1 Exclusion of the Public – Section 100a Local Government Act 1972: Resolved: The public is excluded from the meeting when the Sub Committee discusses the following item for the reason set out below:

76.2 Application for the grant of a licence to drive private hire vehicles: The Sub Committee considered a report which advised Members of an application for the grant of a licence to drive private hire vehicles.

The applicant attended the meeting and answered questions

Resolved: The Sub-Committee grants the licence with a severe warning.

Chairman

Regulation Sub Committee

12 December 2007

Present at the Meeting:

Councillor P Prescott (Chair)

Councillor M Baines

Councillor S Barnes

76.3 Exclusion of the Public – Section 100a Local Government Act 1972: Resolved: The public is excluded from the meeting when the Sub Committee discusses the following item for the reason set out below:

76.4 Application for the grant of a licence to drive private hire vehicles: The Sub Committee considered a report which advised Members of an application for the grant of a licence to drive private hire vehicles.

The applicant attended the meeting and answered questions

Resolved: The Sub-Committee grants the licence.

Chairman

77 Private hire vehicles – additional conditions on certain vehicles: The Committee considered a report which requested that Members consider a report which approved conditions to be imposed on certain private hire vehicles

Resolved: The Committee approves that the following condition be attached to any private hire vehicle:

• That allows for the replacement of fixed seats with wheelchairs:

"Where seats are removed to facilitate the carriage of a wheelchair or wheelchairs, the number of passengers carried on this vehicle shall be no more than the number of remaining seats plus one passenger for each wheelchair. That number of passengers shall not exceed the number which this licence permits". And;

• Fitted with a passenger lift:

"You shall produce to the Council's Vehicle Inspector at the time of testing or to an Authorised officer of the Council on demand, a current written and signed report as to the fitness of the lift issued by an independent competent person who has sufficiently technical and practical knowledge of the lift to be able to detect any defects and assess how significant they are. That person shall not be responsible for the routine maintenance or installation of the lift."

78 Application for an increase in hackney carriage fares: Resolved: This item was deferred until Wednesday 16 January 2008.

79 Application to renew a licence to drive private hire vehicles: The Committee considered a report which advised Members of an application for the renewal of a licence to drive private hire vehicles.

The applicant attended the hearing and answered questions.

Resolved: The Committee feels that in the absence of any written evidence that it would be unwise to renew the licence. The application is therefore refused under the provisions of Section 61(1) (b) of the Local government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 on the grounds that the Medical Practitioner completing the medical report submitted in support of the application states that the applicant is unfit to drive private hire vehicles. That being a reasonable cause.

Chairman