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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the revised Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set out at Appendix A be approved; and recommended to Cabinet for approval and for it to be published.
The following declaration of interest was made: Item 4: Taxi Licensing Policy: Consultation Outcome and Approval Councillor Bethan Price declared a personal interest during the meeting by virtue of a close family member owning a taxi service.
Moved by Councillor John Cole; Seconded by Councillor Michele Wiggins. The vote, undertaken by a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 May 2026 be approved as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the revised Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set out at Appendix A be approved; and recommended to Cabinet for approval and for it to be published.
The Chair welcomed the Lead Licensing Officer to the meeting to present the Taxi Licensing Policy: Consultation Outcome and ApprovalPolicy to Members highlighting that there had not been a Taxi Licensing Policy in place previously within the Authority. The Policy had been discussed at the previous meeting prior to the commencement of the consultation which had now concluded. The key points were highlighted as follows: · Concerns had been previously raised regarding ‘Raptor’ paint finishes on vehicles as this may be used to hide bodywork defects. This paint finish had now been prohibited. · 60% of respondents to the survey were content with the introduction of the Euro 6 requirements on new licensed vehicles which would support the gradual modernisation of the taxi fleet. It was noted that a review of the policy would be anticipated within five years when the age of the fleet may be updated. · Right to Work and DVLA licences which had an expiry date would allow a licence to be granted up to the date of expiry with an option to extend. · Any driver that failed to produce a satisfactory medical certificate within a given time frame would be suspended. · The requirement for an initial MOT on newly purchased vehicles was removed as this was deemed unnecessary with only a plating check required. The vehicle would then require the six-monthly MOTs. · On request from the Licensing Technical team, the requirement to produce the Taxi Meter calibration certificate was extended from 10 days to 30 days. · To facilitate customer feedback/complaints, a new requirement for every private hire/hackney carriage to display a QR code in the vehicle was included. · Concerns had been raised at the previous Licensing Committee meeting regarding the requirement for drivers to take a customer to an ATM machine if there was a failed card payment, this had now been revised to allow retrospective payments. The Lead Licensing Officer explained the options available to the Committee and highlighted the Recommendation. The Chair thanked the Lead Licensing Officer for her report and invited questions from the Committee. In response to a concern raised by Councillor Mark Carter regarding the failed card payments, the Lead Licensing Officer agreed that an initial payment/deposit could be requested prior to commencing the journey for hackney carriages although the full cost would be unknown at that point. Private hire vehicles agree a price prior to the journey and payment could be taken at this point. The requirement for the driver to take the customer to an ATM machine had been removed from the policy as this was not practical within the County. In response to a question raised by Councillor David Bryan regarding drivers that had lived abroad, the Lead Licensing Officer agreed that they were reliant on the honesty of the drivers although there would be evidence particularly if they had a foreign passport. In addition, applicants would need to sign the form advising that they had not lived abroad. Councillor Bryan further noted cross border applications for licences and the Lead Licensing Officer advised that this was not a regular occurrence within the Authority; however, it was highlighted that Carmarthenshire had now issued an UBER operating licence and if there were regular UBER vehicles within the Authority, they would seek the authority to stop and check their licenced vehicles. However, the new Welsh Government Taxi Bill would be seeking the authority for any Licensing Authority to stop and check any licensed vehicle and feedback to the relevant Authority. In response to questions raised by the Chair and Councillor John Cole regarding QR codes in order to provide feedback, the Lead Licensing Officer advised that they were not unique to each vehicle and they would therefore need to input the vehicle information which was displayed in the back of vehicles. Councillor Tim Evans raised concerns on the low response rate of 5% to the consultation; however, the Lead Licensing Officer noted that they had received 30 responses whilst Carmarthenshire, who had more drivers, had received less than 10 to their consultation. In response to a concern raised by Councillor David Bryan regarding the taxi ranks in Haverfordwest, in particular at the transport interchange, the Lead Licensing Officer advised that the new taxi rank had not yet been updated and spaces remained at a premium. Therefore, when a private car parked within the rank, drivers would take a picture and advise the Licensing Department and Parking Enforcement Officers were informed. Following a concern raised by Councillor Tim Evans regarding enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks, the Lead Licensing Officer advised that drivers were requested to subscribe to the update service on their next DBS check which allowed Officers to input their certificate number to access any updates on a bi-annual basis. However, this was reliant on the driver subscribing and maintaining the service. The Lead Licensing Officer advised that the onus remained on the driver to inform the Authority of any court appearances or issues and that this was a requirement of their licence. In response to a question raised by the Cabinet Member for Communities regarding safeguarding refreshers, the Lead Licensing Officer advised that whilst Welsh Government had not recommended a requirement, it could be utilised as a sanction when required. Moved by Councillor Tim Evans; Seconded by Councillor David Bryan. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors David Bryan, Mark Carter, John Cole, Tim Evans, Nick Neumann, Bethan Price, Vanessa Thomas, Michele Wiggins, Tony Wilcox and Alun Wills [10]. There were no votes against and no abstentions. RESOLVED That the revised Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set out at Appendix A be approved; and recommended to Cabinet for approval and for it to be published.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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