Agenda item

The Committee is asked to agree an amendment to the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Knowledge Test procedures in order to delegate its authority to the Licensing Manager to allow applicants to re-sit a fourth knowledge test on appeal to the Licensing Manager, rather than having to lodge an appeal to the Licensing (General Purposes) Sub-Committee.

The Committee had before it a report (A.1) which sought its agreement for an amendment to the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Knowledge Test procedures in order to delegate its authority to the Licensing Manager to allow applicants to re-sit a fourth knowledge test on appeal to the Licensing Manager, rather than having to lodge an appeal to the Licensing (General Purposes) Sub-Committee.

It was reported that:

• The former Licensing Committee had reviewed the procedures and process of the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire driver knowledge test at its meeting on 16 December 2014.

• As part of that review, the Committee had decided to retain the appeal processes to the Licensing (General Purposes) Sub-Committee whereby new applicants for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers Licences could appeal to be allowed to take a fourth knowledge test after having failed three tests.

• There had been 10 appeals to the Licensing (General Purposes) Sub-Committee in the last two calendar years 2015 to 2016 to allow new applicants for a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers Licences to re-sit a fourth driver knowledge test.

• The appeal process therefore had become quite onerous and expensive for the Licensing (General Purposes) Sub-Committee to undertake and it was suggested that it be delegated to the Licensing Manager as a result.

The Licensing Manager informed the Committee that in order to process the appeals for consideration by the Sub-Committee, covering reports had to be written, agendas had to be printed and published and the Council Chamber had to be booked. Officers including a Legal Officer and a Committee Services Officer had needed to be present to assist Members at the appeal and a Licensing Officer had to be in attendance to present the report. 

The Licensing Manager informed the Committee that the appeal process was costly and time consuming for the Council to offer and may also be costly and time consuming for the applicants if, for example, they had needed to take time off work to attend the appeal hearing.

It was therefore recommended to the Committee that it agreed to delegate the appeal process and the appeal decision to the Council’s Licensing Manager or in their absence, to an appropriate Licensing Officer.

The Committee were informed that such a change would reduce time and costs to the Licensing service all round and therefore provide a more efficient and cost effective service for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence holders as a result. It  would also enable the Sub-Committee to focus their time on those appeal matters that were perhaps not so straight forward as considering or allowing a re-sit of a fourth driver knowledge test.  

Following discussion, it was moved by Councillor White seconded by Councillor V E Guglielmi and unanimously RESOLVED that the Committee agrees to delegate the decision to allow applicants to appeal to re-sit a fourth Hackney Carriage and Private Hire driver knowledge test (subject to the applicant paying the necessary fee), to the Council’s Licensing Manager, or their appropriate delegated substitute.