Agenda item

To consider a report seeking approval for the Authority to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with other participating licensing authorities in a Cross Border Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Authorisation Scheme.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the Authority to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with participating North East licensing authorities (Middlesbrough, Stockton on Tees, Redcar & Cleveland, Darlington, Hartlepool, Durham, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Newcastle and Gateshead) so that officers from the participating authorities could be placed at the disposal of the Authority and those officers authorised to carry out inspections of North Tyneside licensed vehicles and drivers when operating in the participating authority areas and if necessary issue notices on behalf of the Authority.

The Authority was the licensing authority for hackney carriages (taxis) and private hire vehicles (PHVs), their drivers and their operators, for the borough.  The overall aim of the statutory licensing scheme was to ensure the safety of the travelling public.  This was done through the standards adopted that must be met to be licensed and then through enforcement activity to ensure that the licence holder continued to meet these standards.  

The Authority licensed around 183 taxis, 924 PHVs, 1214 drivers and 23 operators in the borough.  These licenses had been granted in accordance with national legislation and having regard to the North Tyneside Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

The Deregulation Act 2015 had come into force in October 2015 and allowed Operators to sub-contract work between offices inside and outside the area that licensed them. This meant that a person booking a licensed vehicle could be sent a vehicle and driver licensed by a neighbouring authority that had different standards to those of the home licensing authority.  Indeed, in recent months enforcement activity had established that it had become more and more common for the licensed trade to provide hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and drivers not licensed by the Authority to fulfil bookings made in North Tyneside, and vice versa.  

With regard to regional collaboration without authorisations in place the officers of other boroughs would not be permitted to inspect North Tyneside licensed vehicles and drivers in their area. It had been recognised regionally that a formalised approach needed to be introduced to allow enforcement activity to be carried out when vehicles and their drivers worked in an area wider than the borough where they were licensed.

To achieve this, a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), attached at Appendix 1 to the report, had been developed between the participating authorities.  This draft MoU provided for authorisations to be put in place, as required, to permit licensing officers from the participating authorities to be given authority to inspect North Tyneside licensed vehicles and their drivers working in the participating authority areas and to take appropriate enforcement action if necessary. This gave officers from other authorities power to act as officers from this Authority and undertake the appropriate checks and enforcement activity within their borough.  

It was expected that each participating authority would carry out at least two enforcement exercises during a six-month trial period following the MoU being entered into with a participating authority and authorisations had been given to its officers.

Any enforcement activity undertaken by a participating authority on behalf of the Authority would be notified the next working day.  This would enable any follow up action to be swiftly undertaken by the Authority’s Licensing Team.

It was expected that North Tyneside Council officers would be authorised to inspect vehicles licensed by other local authorities working within the boundaries of North Tyneside and indeed authorisation had been given to North Tyneside Officers by some of the participating authorities. 

This activity and any authorisations given to officers from other Authorities would be reviewed after a 6-month trial period.  A report would be produced for the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement at that time with information on the number of enforcement inspections undertaken by this Authority’s officers and participating authority officers using the reciprocal authorisation of officer arrangements outlined in the report. 

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to accept the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not approve the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) it be agreed that the Authority enters into a Memorandum of Understanding (draft attached at Appendix 1) with the participating authorities pursuant to section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 in relation to the placing of officers from the participating authorities at the disposal of the Authority for the purposes of hackney carriage and private hire vehicle and driver licensing regulation and enforcement;

(2) the Head of Environment, Housing and Leisure, in consultation with the Head of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement, be authorised to make any minor amendments, if necessary, to the draft Memorandum of Understanding prior to its completion; and

(3) the Head of Environment, Housing and Leisure be authorised to undertake any ancillary requirements to give effect to the above resolutions in consultation the Head of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement.

(Reason for decision: By entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the participating authorities, officers from those authorities will be permitted to inspect North Tyneside licensed vehicles when operating in those areas.  At present, officers from the Authority have to travel outside the borough to inspect vehicles that are operating in areas such as Newcastle or Cramlington.)