Agenda item

Purpose: To allow Members to consider the responses received during the 28 day statutory consultation period concerning the proposed fees in relation to hackney carriage and private hire licensing. A further update will be provided at the Licensing Committee on 8^th February on additional responses received prior to the consultation closing on 11^th February 2021.

Sean Murphy introduced the report to Committee (Agenda Item 4) and went over the history of taxi fees and charges; he stated that consultation had taken place and a range of issues had been reported.

It was proposed, that given the pandemic, and how it affected the trade, that the fees not be increased and that further dialogue with the trade needed to be pursued.

Councillor Phil Barnet said that the pandemic had terribly affected hospitality and trickled down to the taxi industry. He stated that it must not be forgotten the vital service taxis have provided to vulnerable residents and it would be irresponsible not to take action to prevent more loss of taxis to the area. Councillor Barnet recommended that any increases to fees could be re-examined in the future once the effects of the pandemic had passed.

Councillor Graham Bridgeman stated that there were two fundamentals about the licensing regime in West Berkshire Council (WBC) that were to be considered. The fees they paid for whatever they were licensed to do and then a question of the business support they would have received during the pandemic. He was in favour of not raising the fees this year.

Councillor Adrian Abbs agreed with Councillor Bridgeman and further stated that what needed to be done was two-fold. The restructure of fees and then what can be done to help the taxis trade to ensure its survival. He suggested that any of the lost taxis could be reissued with a license as a way of helping them back into trading again.

Councillor Jeff Beck stated that it was asked what funds could be allocated to assist taxi drivers at the Gold meeting earlier and Councillor Bridgeman stated that it was not for the Committee to make that decision and that the purpose of the Committee was to make a recommendation to the Council.

Joseph Holmes discussed the measures that have been put in place by the Government and the Council. On the WBC website all grants have been listed and are referred to as the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Gabrielle Mancini added that it was worth noting that the need was required to be demonstrated and that hardship had occurred before the funding was issued because not all taxi companies have experienced the same level of hardship and the grant was meant to reach those who had been impacted the most.

It was also noted that the issues around fees and grants were two separate issues and that the grant was to cover hardship; rather, than fees. Gabrielle Mancini stated that the ARG must last the Council until March next year and if a broad approach were applied to one industry, it would be needed to bear in mind that there are other businesses and other industries that needed financial assistance and therefore it all needed to be balanced.

Gabrielle Mancini clarified that businesses did not need to go out of business to have been eligible for funding and that if the Council were to run out of funding, they could potentially take the issue to parliament for more Government funding.

Councillor Martha Vickers said she supported the suspension in fees bearing in mind that the hardship fund seemed limited and that it may not have reached everyone.

It was further suggested the Council needed to be proactive in letting trade know through publicity and Sean Murphy said it was possible if his team were instructed to do so.

The proposal that fees would be reviewed in the longer term was accepted by the committee.