The Head of Community Services has submitted a report which details the Deregulation Act 2015 and its impact on the Taxi Licensing function.

Officer Recommendations: That the General Purposes Licensing Committee resolves to:

1.         note the contents of the report; and

2.         endorse the movement to a presumption in favour of a 3 year driver licence as required by the Deregulation Act 2015 and the steps being taken in that context to ensure that the council has adequate up to date information to inform the licensing process.

The Head of Community Services submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed the Deregulation Act 2015 and its impact on the Taxi Licensing function.

The Licensing Manager presented the report and briefed the Committee on the main points of the legislation.

The Licensing Manager responsed to the concerns which had been raised by the Chairman of COLTA (City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association) about the price of a 3 year license.  He reminded the Committee that the Council was now legally required to offer a 3 year license and explained that only the Council element of the license fee (£115) would be multiplied for the 3 years and that the DVLA and administrative charges would be a flat fee (£58).  He also explained that the drivers on a 3 year licence would be required to attend an annual declaration appointment but that the costs of those meetings would be absorbed by the Council as part of the license fee.

The Committee resolved to:

1.    note the contents of the report; and

2.    endorse the movement to a presumption in favour of a 3 year driver licence as required by the Deregulation Act 2015 and the steps being taken in that context to ensure that the council has adequate up to date information to inform the licensing process.