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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED to note the contents of the report and the activity report for October 2022 – March 2023.
AGREED to provide the comments above that they wished to be considered for inclusion in the consultation response provided by Torfaen County Borough Council.
1.1 The Chair welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting of the General Licensing Committee. 1.2 Apologies were received by Councillor Norma Parrish.
2.1 Councillor Steven Evans declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 as a local authority appointed member of the South Wales Fire & Rescue Authority. 2.2 No other interests were declared.
3.1 The minutes were confirmed as a true and accurate record.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to note the contents of the report and the activity report for October 2022 – March 2023.
4.1 The TML&TS presented and briefly read through her report whilst sharing her screen. She updated the Committee that the fixed penalty notice referred to in 4.6.1 of the report had been paid and there that there was an error in Appendix A, which should have been dated 2022/23 and not 2021/22. 4.2 There were no questions from Members. 4.3 The Committee AGREED to note the contents of the report and the activity report for October 2022 – March 2023.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to provide the comments above that they wished to be considered for inclusion in the consultation response provided by Torfaen County Borough Council.
5.1 The TML&TS presented her report whilst sharing her screen. Following, she took Members through Appendix C, asking whether they had any comments to make. Members commented as follows, in relation to the corresponding question:- 1. None. 2. None. 3. It was thought that most applications made would be for a dual licence. Torfaen didn’t issue the licences separately and so amendments would need to be made if they were introduced. There was concern about the effect on the availability of hackney carriages if applicants only applied for a private hire driver licence and didn’t then have the ability to drive a hackney carriage. 4. None; Committee were happy with the proposal 5. “Pre-booking only” signage for Private Hire Vehicles was a benefit as people weren’t aware of the difference. 6. Basic DBS checks were essential. If the Operator had a very small number of drivers, how would it work in producing a policy for passengers with additional needs. Perhaps some provision could be made available for basic online training to help Operators. 7. There should be some flexibility in the use of the Welsh language as in certain regions of Wales, Welsh wasn’t used. Also, there should be some flexibility in the use of particular safety technologies such as CCTV, as the demographic and nature of businesses varied. 8. None. 9. The reporting period should be kept consistent across the board rather than have different times in reporting more serious issues. This should be kept short and to seven days (five working days). 10. None; the timescales should be seven days (five working days). 11. None; Committee agreed with the proposal. 12. This was a welcomed consistent approach. However, vexatious reporting of cancellations could take place. There should be an allowed timeframe for cancellations. 13. Due to Torfaen not being a huge borough, multi-apping allowed some drivers to maximise their income; late cancellations could be linked to this. It seemed people were waiting longer which attracted more complaints. There were complexities around trying to stop multi-apping. Option one seemed most sensible. If complaints continued around consistency then Officers could investigate, but it seemed obvious that drivers would want to maximise their income potential. 14. Option A seemed most deliverable. 15. This was important, particularly in South East Wales where a number of local authorities were in close proximity to one another. 16. This was an operational issue for taxi firms where there was an age limit for vehicles. If a deadline was set it would give them time to invest and make the transition. However, there were cost implications and it was important that the right infrastructure be put in place around charging points. 17. None. 18. None. 19. None. 20. This shouldn’t be enforced in South East Wales where the Welsh language was hardly spoken, especially for smaller Operators. Operators should be encouraged to support the Welsh language, and perhaps training could be offered, particularly around meet and greet words. Apps could assist with this issue and the Committee were happy with Welsh being treated no less favourably. 21. It was far more beneficial for taxis to be localised rather than travelling from afar. Wholesale changes could impact Licensing Teams’ ability to deliver outcomes and could potentially have cost and resource implications on LAs. 5.2 The Committee had nothing further to add. 5.3 The Committee considered the contents of the Welsh Government’s white paper and AGREED to provide the comments above that they wished to be considered for inclusion in the consultation response provided by Torfaen County Borough Council.
6.1 The date of the next meeting was confirmed to take place in the new municipal year. 6.2 The meeting ended at 11.59am.
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.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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