Agenda and draft minutes

To approve the minutes from the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2024 were agreed by the members present and then signed by the Chair.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Durrant, Reynolds, A Williams and Weston.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

Mr S Ahmed, Mr W Ahmed, Mr Fazal and Ms King attended the meeting to speak on item 5.

Decision

Grace Periods - The Committee unanimously agreed to amend the proposed policy wording to confirm that if the application and payment is submitted prior to the expiry date the licence can be maintained as a ‘live’ licence and the application can be completed at a later date if needed. However, to be clear, if the expiry date has passed and the pre-requisite checks have not taken place at the request of the driver, then drivers are not able to work until the new licence is issued.

Amendment to 5.8: The Council will aim to send a reminder to licence holders before their licence expires in order to assist them in prompt submission of renewal applications.  Please note the Council is not obliged to do this and the responsibility of ensuring licences do not expire remains with the licence holder.  Applicants must therefore allow adequate time for the processing of their renewal applications.  The Council is not responsible for delays due to the actions of external bodies such as the DBS.   If the application, supporting documents (passport, driving licence and proof of address) and payment are submitted prior to the licence expiry date it can be maintained as a ‘live’ licence, and the application can be completed beyond the expiry date if required.  Maintaining the licence in this way will safeguard the driver from having to start the application process again, including re-taking a knowledge test and any pre-requisite training requirements that the Council has in place.   If the pre-requisite checks (including the return of the DBS check) have not taken place at the request of the driver by the expiry date, then the driver cannot work until they have, and a new licence has been issued. Any driver working in between the expiry date and renewal without a valid badge and licence will be treated as an unlicensed individual and the appropriate enforcement action will be taken by the Council.

Written Knowledge Test arrangements – The Committee unanimously agree to change the written part of the Knowledge Test in line with the proposals put forward for consultation (training requirements for safeguarding, advanced driving awareness, disability awareness and communications skills to remain as per the existing policy with no changes).

Paragraph 12.3: The written knowledge test assessment will include the following:

a) Hackney drivers will be expected to undertake a short multiple choice exam on routes in the borough, comprising 12 multiple choice route based questions with a pass rate of 10. This is based on the requirement for Hackney drivers to pick up anywhere in the borough and take a passenger anywhere in the borough (or out of it).  In those circumstances, there is not sufficient time to prepare satellite navigation routes. This means a licensed hackney carriage driver would need an understanding of the borough and direct routes for journeys.

b) New private hire drivers will not be required to complete a knowledge test.  Due to the pre-booked nature of private hire work, they would have sufficient time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Decision

1.         That the Licensing and Health and Safety Enforcement Committee agreed the following amendments to the Policy:

Paragraph 3.1.2 as amended will read as follows: Will your tables and chairs present a risk or obstruction to the public, in terms of both highway safety, or obstruction to pedestrians? (It should be noted that any permanent alterations in respect of removable furniture, i.e. hooks/bars/loops affixed to buildings may need planning permission)

2.         That the Licensing and Health and Safety Enforcement Committee agreed to adopt the Dacorum Borough Council Pavement Licensing Policy.