Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Jeffrey Room at The Guildhall, Northampton, NN1 1DE

Contact: Richard Woods / Maisie McInnes, Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

7.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

8.

Chair's Announcements

To receive communications from the Chair.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Taxi and General Licensing Committee. He explained that there were two speakers present, Mr Kevin Wilsher and Mr Simon Wilsher, who would address the committee and then the Environmental and Licensing Manager would present the report.

9.

Proposed Amendment of the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Specification and Emission Standards Policy pdf icon PDF 236 KB

The Committee to consider an amendment to the current Northampton Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Specification and Emission Standards Policy (“the Emissions Policy”).

 

Minutes:

The Chair invited Mr Simon Wilsher to address the Taxi & General Licensing Committee. Mr Simon Wilsher expressed his concerns on behalf of taxi drivers in the current economic climate and stressed the impact that Covid-19 had on the trade.

 

Next Mr Kevin Wilsher addressed the Taxi & General Licensing Committee and expressed concerns regarding the financial impact on drivers and emphasised many drivers were struggling to afford new low-emissions taxi carriages.

 

At the Chair’s invitation, the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager presented the report and explained the report was seeking an amendment to the current Emission Standards Policy to allow for an additional extension for Hackney Carriage proprietors to purchase improved emission standard wheelchair accessible vehicles. The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager highlighted that an extension had already been given to the date of implementation of the emission standard policy, and the extension would help to alleviate concerns of drivers due to the impact of Covid-19.

 

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager summarised the background to the report and drew members attention to the recommendations and their options.

 

Members discussed the report.

 

RESOLVED: That the Taxi & General Licensing Committee:

 

a)    Agreed to amend the Northampton Emissions Policy to extend the

transitional period for those hackney carriage licences that do not meet the current emission policy standards.

 

b)   Agreed that this extension should be limited to one renewal application per hackney carriage vehicle licence that does not meet the current emission policy standards since the 1st January 2022

 

c)    Agreed that no further renewal applications will be accepted after the 30thJune 2022, for any hackney carriage vehicle that does not meet thecurrent emission policy standards.

 

 

d) Agreed to amend the taxi and private hire emission standards policy to remove the option for any hackney

10.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The following report(s) contain exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1, Schedule 12A of Local Government Act 1972.

 

Paragraph 1 – Information relating to any individual.

 

Paragraph 2 – Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

 

Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

 

Members are reminded that whilst the following item(s) have been marked as exempt, it is for the meeting to decide whether or not to consider each of them in private or in public. In making the decision, members should balance the interests of individuals or the Council itself in having access to the information. In considering their discretion members should also be mindful of the advice of Council Officers.

 

Should Members decide not to make a decision in public, they are recommended to resolve as follows:

 

“That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, it would be likely that exempt information falling under the provisions of Schedule 12A, Part I, Paragraph(s) 1, 2 and 3 would be disclosed to them, and that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”

Minutes:

The Chair moved that the remainder of the meeting be held in private:

 

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, it would be likely that exempt information falling under the provisions of Schedule 12A, Part I, Paragraph(s) 1 would be disclosed to them, and that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

RESOLVED: Members agreed that the public and press were excluded from the remainder of the meeting and the Taxi & General Licensing Committee.

 

11.

Private Minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 August 2021.

Minutes:

The private minutes were agreed as true and accurate record of the meeting.