Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held 20 April 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of 20 April 2022 were approved and signed.

To set the fees for the Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licence regimes specifically for Vehicles & Private Hire Operators.

Members considered the Setting of Taxi Fees for Vehicles and Operators for 2022/23 report presented by Michelle Bishop.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Mrs Mayor said that although she agrees that the Council cannot keep prices back, residents are already concerned about a lack of taxi provision with Fenland, therefore she wonders whether it will create a bigger problem by putting prices up.

·         Councillor Hoy said it was agreed at Full Council that there would be a wider review into taxi services within Fenland. She could understand Councillor Mrs Mayor’s concern, but drivers do have ongoing costs to consider. We need to investigate the issues and concerns of those in the trade.

·         Councillor Humphrey said that most drivers are self-employed, they can work as and when they choose. If they have been working late over Friday and Saturday, perhaps they do not want to work on Sundays. He does not know what the answer is, but he welcomes the review.

·         Councillor Hoy said that Covid-19 affected the night-time economy as people did not go out so much. There are some causes affecting taxi provision that the Council has no ability to impact upon and she had not been aware until the previous meeting that the Council does not have to set a maximum fare. It would be interesting to see, as part of the review, what the outcome would be if we did that.

·         Councillor Connor stated that he welcomed the review, people need taxis, and the Council should do all it can to help the trade as well as alleviate problems for the public. However, the Committee are here today to discuss the setting of fees for the trade.

·         Councillor Maul stated that he does not think an increase in the taxi fees charged for vehicles and operators will help at this time, so he is not looking to recommend that and will not support an increase, but he is looking forward to the outcome of the review.

·         Councillor Mrs Mayor asked if any objections had been raised by drivers in Whittlesey. She expressed her concern that Council notices, which are all published in the Fenland Citizen, are not seen in Whittlesey, therefore are private hire drivers notified by other means so they can comment? 

·         Michelle Bishop responded that all drivers and operators are notified of any notifications or proposed increases via email as the main method of communication, so yes, they will all be aware of the proposals. She added that it would not be right to comment on individual responses within this meeting, but should any company or driver feel that they are not being consulted in the right way, please let her know and she will look into this.

·         Councillor Humphrey referred to Appendix B of the report and noted that some of these fees are not about making money but involve cost recovery. It is his view that the proposed fee increase for hackney carriage and private hire licences  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC2/22