Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Kemp.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 7 February 2023 and the record of the Joint Meeting of Committees held on 24 May 2023.

The record of the meeting held on 7 February 2023 and the record of the Joint meeting of Committees held on 24 May 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chairperson as correct.

The Chairperson will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

There were none.  

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

This report updates Members on the progress of the Shared Licensing Service between Gravesham Borough Council and Medway Council.

Discussion:

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Service.

The Licensing Manager gave a summary of the report to the Committee including the remit of the service, structure, staffing levels and work undertaken by the Licensing Team.

Members thanked the Licensing Manager and the Licensing Team for the update and hard work and commented on the positive results regarding debt collection.

In response to a question from Members regarding staff vacancies the Regulatory Services Manager confirmed that the posts of Licensing Officer and Licensing Assistant would be recruited to, as would the apprentice post when it would become vacant in May 2024.  

Decision:

1.    The Committee noted the Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Service Update report, attached at Appendix A to the report.

This report sets out the results from the consultation on amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy to include a mandatory condition for all licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles to have a functioning cashless payment facility available for fare paying passengers. The Committee is asked to determine whether to recommend the policy change to Full Council for approval.

Discussion:

The Committee invited the Chairman of Medway Licensed Taxi Driver Association to join the meeting to contribute to the discussion on contactless payment facilities in Taxis.

It was suggested that consideration relating to a review of tariffs should be deferred as it was not linked to contactless payment facilities and therefore the tariff review should be discussed as a separate issue at a later meeting.

The Licensing Manager informed the Committee of the results from the consultation on amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy to include a mandatory condition for all licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles to have a functioning cashless payment facility available for fare paying passengers.

The Committee discussed connectivity issues and set up costs and were pleased to note the support the Medway Licensed Taxi Driver Association planned to offer to drivers if the proposal was approved and implemented.

The Chairman of Medway Licensed Taxi Driver Association confirmed that the support in setting up contactless payment facilities would be advertised and made available to any licensed taxi driver in Medway.

The Committee noted that if contactless payment facilities in taxis were approved, there would be opportunities to publicise this facility to the public.

Decision:

1.     The Committee agreed to recommend to Full Council for approval the inclusion of the following requirement in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy:

Card Payment Machines – All licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers must provide a card payment facility in accordance with the Guidance for Electronic Payment Devices.

2.    The Committee agreed that the recommendation to authorise officers to implement a review of tariffs in liaison with Medway Licensed Taxi Driver Association be deferred and considered separately by the Committee at a later date.