ROUND THE COUNCILS ROSSENDALE:
BID TO DEFER HUGE FEE INCREASES FAILS
A bid to defer “huge” hikes in taxi licence fees to protect businesses hit by the pandemic has failed. LancsLive reports that Rossendale Borough Council’s licens- ing committee approved charge increases, which also appeared to open the door to possible fare increases for customers. The council’s annual budget - which went before full council on Wednesday night, 2 March - included hikes to drivers’ licence charges from £185 to £223 for three years, annual vehicle licences from £140 to £178, and five-year private hire operator’s licences from £300 to £413. The licensing meeting heard that the significant increases brought the borough’s fees into line with neighbouring authorities and were necessary in order to comply with requirements that taxi licensing should be self-financing and not make a profit or a loss. Public Protection manager Phil Morton told the meeting the fees should be reviewed on “a regular basis”, but had been delayed by the pandemic. The recommended revised charges - including a 38 per cent hike in private operator’s licences - reflected the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis from auditors to “accurately reflect the cost of the service” and ensure that “wider council tax payers are not unduly burdened”. Cllr Alan Woods told the meeting they were “significant increases”, and questioned how the fees had fallen below levels seen pre-2015, when they were cut due to a huge influx of ‘out of town’ licence applications. He said: “It’s quite an impact for people to take. I don’t understand why don’t we just increase them incrementally. I just don’t understand why we have left it seven years when at least we could have increased it by inflation. What confi- dence can the operators have in our ability to ensure the fees are matching the actual costs?” Mr Morton said: “We are not allowed to increase it by infla- tion. We originally did the work in 2020 and then Covid came in. “We actually stopped charging the fees during that period so they got a free renewal. I know what you’re saying. In per- centage terms it does seem like a large increase, but over three years £12.67 per year extra, which is pence per week extra. I would suggest they were set lower than they should have been at 2015. “The piece of work we did covers every single thing to make sure that the licence is complied with. It’s quite a large piece of work. We would probably do that every two or three years. Clearly it was not the time to bring in new fees at the beginning of the pandemic.” Cllr Tony Haworth then proposed that the charges should be deferred by a year as a reflection of the problems with Covid, including for taxi drivers.
APRIL 2022
However, this amendment was defeated, with the meeting told it would create cost issues for the council, with it already forming part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and given existing funding gaps.
EAST RIDING: COUNCIL TO PAY FOR CCTV TO BE FITTED
Taxis and private gire vehicles in Hull and East Riding could soon be fitted with CCTV and audio recordings of passen- gers and drivers. According to the Hull Daily Mail, on Monday 7 March, East Riding Council’s Licensing Committee backed proposals requiring all licensed taxi and PH drivers to have CCTV and audio recording systems in their cars. Councillors heard the moves were to improve safety for drivers and passengers, help with criminal investigations and could save on insur- ance costs with feedback broadly welcoming the plans. It comes as councillors heard that East Riding had aimed to fit CCTV in all 313 licensed vehicles by December 2019 under a voluntary scheme launched in 2016. 199 drivers did so, leav- ing around a third without CCTV, with the scheme paused ahead of Government plans to review rules on it in 2020. The Licensing Committee backed making CCTV a require- ment, with the council agreeing to foot the £160,000 cost of replacing and fitting new systems with audio recording. Council figures show CCTV footage from licensed vehicles has been used 53 times in investigations conducted by County Hall officials and Humberside Police. A report to the committee stated footage had lead to action being taken in assault cases, both from passengers and drivers. Footage has also been used in theft and burglary cases and to dis- prove false accusations made against drivers. Council figures show footage 18 times for vehicle accidents, 15 for allegations against drivers and six for assaults on drivers. Footage was used three times for incidents including soiling the inside of cars and 11 for incidents outside vehicles. Councillors heard the new systems would allow both drivers and passengers to turn audio recording on, with a light also coming on to alert people they are being recorded. Licensing officers told the committee it would allow cus- tomers to record conversations if they became uncomfortable and it may deter drivers from talking to them inappropriately. They added it would also mean that drivers could record conversations with customers if they needed to. They added the equipment could also help save drivers money on insurance, by between 10 to 15 per cent in some cases, and help them with no fault claims. Drivers who currently have CCTV told the council they felt it deterred aggression and abuse from passengers and stopped them from running off without paying fares. Council officials also hope the scheme will encourage more new drivers to come into the taxi trade to help serve the East Riding’s night time economy.
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