The Committee considered a report that recommended the adoption of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy following the completion of a consultation with members of the hackney carriage and private hire trade. The following documents were appended to the report:

·       Appendix 1 - Draft Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Convictions Policy

·       Appendix 2 - Objection from the from the RTA

·       Appendix 3 - Objection by Mr Anjum

·       Appendix 4 - Objection by Mr Ditta

·       Appendix 5 - Objection by Mr Rafiq

·       Appendix 6 - Objection by Mr Sajid

·       Appendix 7 - Objection by Mr Shahzad

·       Appendix 8 - South Oxfordshire District Council Conviction Policy (points 4.19, 4.42 & 4.43)

The report explained that in July 2020 the Secretary of State for Transport had issued statutory guidance (Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards) to all licensing authorities. The Standards were aimed at safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and set-out a range of robust measures to protect taxi and private hire vehicle passengers, particularly the most vulnerable. In May 2022 the Department for Transport (DfT) had also issued statutory guidance to licensing authorities to help them to comply with their new duties under the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act (TPHVA) 2022. A fundamental part of the TPHVA now required licensing authorities to share safeguarding and road safety concerns about taxi and private hire vehicle drivers with each other. The report explained that Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy had been updated to ensure that it met with the requirements and standards set out in the legislation and associated statutory guidance.

The purpose of the Policy was to provide guidance on how the Council would now determine the suitability of new applicants and existing licence holders to hold a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire licence where the applicant or licence holder had been convicted of a criminal or driving offence.

At its meeting on 13 July 2023 the Licensing Applications Committee had approved the publication of the updated draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy for consultation with members of the hackney carriage and private hire vehicle trade (Minute 4 refers). The consultation had been conducted between 2August 2023 and 3 September 2023. The consultation was sent out to 1,351 drivers and 37 Private Hire and School Transport Operators who were asked to ensure their drivers read the report and updated policy. The consultation was also sent to the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police. During the 28-day consultation period 6 objections had been received. Copies of the 6 objections were attached to the report at Appendices 2 to 7.

The report summarised each of the objections that had been received and provided the Licensing Team’s perspectivein response to each concern. A key concern expressed by drivers related to the changes made to the draft Policy regarding the consideration of driving offences and in particular the implications for the accumulation of DVLA penalty points for licenced drivers. As a result of the objections that had been received the Licensing Team had contacted other licensing authorities to compare the content relating to driving offences in Reading’s draft Policy with that in the policies used by other licensing authorities. The findings of the comparison were summarised in the report with a copy of the response that had been provided by South Oxfordshire District Council attached at Appendix 8.

The Committee discussed the concerns that had been raised by drivers. At the meeting it was noted that that the new Policy proposed that where licence holders had more than 6 valid penalty points for driving offences (in other words, 7 or more valid DVLA penalty points) their licence would be revoked. The Committee considered that this was an appropriate and reasonable standard to expect professional drivers to adhere to.

The Committee also asked that some aspects of the draft Policy be made clearer and instructed that paragraphs 52 and 53 of the draft Policy be combined so that they would be read as one single paragraph.

Asif Rashid, Chairman of Reading Taxi Association, and Imran Ali, a local hackney carriage driver, were both present at the meeting and both addressed the Committee on the item.

Resolved:

(1)           That officers be authorised to make minor changes to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy in order to improve clarity, including that paragraphs 52 and 53 be combined into one single paragraph.

(2)           That, having given due consideration to the consultation objections received, the updated Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy, as attached to the report at Appendix 1, be adopted, subject to (1) above.