Agenda item

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Joyce Plummer, Portfolio Holder for Resources, regarding a proposed amendment to the Rules, Regulations and Procedures for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing to remove the upper age limit to which hackney carriage and private hire vehicles could remain licensed.

Councillor Plummer highlighted the main issues contained within the report.  The proposals would allow responsible owners with well-maintained vehicles to continue to operate them as taxis beyond the current 15 years maximum age limit.  However, public protection was the main concern.  A vehicle would still need to be under 10 years old when first licensed.

Councillor Dad recalled that both he and Councillor Plummer had served on the Taxi Liaison Committee, which listened to the views of the trade.  There now appeared to be a change of direction nationally about the maximum age of vehicles, which he was happy for the Council to support.  He also agreed that a trial period would be useful.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Under Section 47 and 48 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. the Council might attach to the grant of a hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licence such conditions as the Council might consider reasonably necessary.  Any person aggrieved by a condition could appeal to the magistrate's court.  In pursuance of the above Sections the Council had attached the following conditions to hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licences:

'When a car already licensed by this Council reaches 2 years of age it will be required to pass the Council’s vehicle examination test twice yearly.  Any vehicle over the age of 2 years will only be issued with a 6 month plate.  When a vehicle reaches 10 years of age it will be subject to the Council’s vehicle examination test three times per year and it will only be issued each time with a four month licence, with the exception of electric or hybrid vehicles which will be issued with a 6 months licence up to the age of 15 years.  When a vehicle reaches the age of 15 years it will cease to be licensed.'

A consultation had recently been carried out with the taxi trade and members of the public to consider whether the upper age limit to which a vehicle could remain licensed should be removed.  This was as a result of a request from some elected members and some members of the trade and was based on drivers’ complaints about the financial difficulties of having to buy newer vehicles.  However when making a decision members should be minded that the Council’s main concern should be for public safety.

The DFT had issued Guidance relating to vehicle age as set out below:

'Age Limits. It is perfectly possible for an older vehicle to be in good condition. So the setting of an age limit beyond which a local authority will not license vehicles may be arbitrary and inappropriate.  But a greater frequency of testing may be appropriate for older vehicles - for example, twice-yearly tests for vehicles more than five years old.'

Vehicles over the age of 2 years were currently tested every 6 months and vehicles over the age of 10 years were tested every 4 months.  If the age limit was to be removed the testing regime should help to ensure that only vehicles that were safe and suitable and in good condition were licensed in the Borough.  The Council should ensure that a robust testing system remained in place especially if the age limit was removed.

There had been 52 responses to the consultation.  Of those 10 were against the removal of the age limit and 42 were in favour.  It was noted from the table of responses that only the taxi and private hire trade were in favour of removing the age limit.  Members of the public along with 2 members of the trade were against the proposal.  The responses to the consultation were attached as Appendix 2 to the report.

Many members of the trade had stated that most other authorities in the area allowed any age of vehicle to be licensed.  However this was not the case.  A comparison table setting out the age requirements of other authorities in the area was provided as Appendix 3 to the report.

The Council’s CVMU centre where the tests were carried out had been consulted.  They had no objection to the proposal however they had said that the situation would have to be monitored as the older vehicles might take longer to test and the testing fee might have to be adjusted accordingly.

An analysis of vehicle spot checks carried out in 2022 did show that the older the vehicle that was checked the more likely it was to have faults.   This evidence might not be overly helpful as inevitably due to the age range of the vehicles that were licensed in the Borough there was a higher ratio of older vehicles that were subject to spot check as they made up the majority of the fleet.  However the results did show that of the vehicles over the age of 12 years that were checked almost 50% failed the check and a third of them were given immediate prohibitions by VOSA.  An immediate prohibition meant that the vehicle could not be driven on a public highway until faults had been rectified.  A copy of the results broken down by vehicle age was set out at Appendix 4 to the report.

Figures from the Council's testing center taken over the last 6 months showed that of the vehicles under the age of 7 that had been tested there was a 67.5% pass rate and a 32.5% fail rate.  However the fail rates rose in vehicles that were over the age of 7 to 58.8% pass rate and a 41.2% fail rate.  Unfortunately a further break down of the fail rates of vehicles over the age of 10 years was not available.  The figures had been included in the same appendix as the figures from the safety operations (Appendix 4 to the report).

Members were invited to consider all the information available in the report and accompanying appendices and consider whether to amend the Rules, Regulations and Procedures to remove the upper age limit to which a vehicle could remain licensed in the Borough.  It was emphasised that public safety should always be at the heart of any decision made.

If the upper age limit were to be removed the following condition might be imposed:

‘Any vehicle over the age of 15 years that is presented for test in such a condition that it fails the test on 3 consecutive occasions shall no longer be eligible to be licensed by this authority.’

Whilst it might be perfectly reasonable for a proprietor who had maintained his vehicle to a high standard to wish to continue to license it beyond the age of 15, a change to the policy would open the floodgates for people to buy old unsuitable vehicles and try to get them licensed.  This practice had recently been recognised by the vehicle examiners at CVMU as vehicles with numerous faults, up to 35 in one instance, had been presented for test.  Copies of some sample test fail sheets were provided as Appendix 5 to the report.  If the upper age limit were removed, it might be prudent to further safeguard public safety by adding a further condition as set out below:

'The maximum age that a vehicle can be when first submitted for licensing is 10 years old.'

Should the age limit be removed it might be advisable to do so for a trial period of 3 years initially so that the impact could be monitored via spot check and test results.  A further report could be presented at the end of the trial period for Members to determine whether they wished to make the change permanent.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

The Council could take no action and continue with the currentpolicy

Resolved                                 (1)   That the following amendments be made to the Taxi Licensing Policy:

(a)   The upper age limit to which a vehicle can remain licensed should be removed to enable those members of the trade who maintain their vehicles to a high standard to continue to be issued with a licence.

(b)  Vehicles must be under the age of 10 years when first licensed.

(c)   If a vehicle over the age of 15 fails to be properly maintained by the owner and it fails a test on 3 consecutive occasions it will be deemed no longer suitable to be licensed by this Authority

(2)   That the amendments should initially be made for a trial period of 3 years so that the situation can be monitored.  That a further report be submitted at the end of 3 years so that Members can determine whether, in the interest of public safety, the changes can be made permanent.