Issue - meetings
Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Penalty Points Scheme - review of the scheme
Meeting: 12/11/2018 - Licensing Committee (Item 20)
20 Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Penalty Points Scheme - review of the scheme 
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Minutes:
The Committee was presented with a report on the review of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Penalty Points Scheme. The scheme had been in operation since November 2017. The report provided Members with an update on the operation of the scheme.
All drivers, operators andvehicle proprietors were required to agree to be bound by the scheme upongrant and renewal of their licence. Since the implementation of the scheme, nine penalty point notices had been issued to drivers licensed by the Council, these included:
· Incorrect display of taxi licence plates;
· Smoking in a licensed vehicle;
· Failing to display a roof sign;
· Dangerous parking; and
· Failing to behave in a civil and orderly manner.
Members raised concerns about vehicle engines left running whilst stationery and therefore proposed that this could be included in the Penalty Points Scheme, ensuring that there was no contravention to the Air Quality Law and Policy. The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, commented that the scheme would be reviewed in the future in order to meet the Members’ views. He further advised that the Act was enforced in the Highway Code under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emission’s) Regulations 2002, which stated “you must not leave a vehicle’s engine running unnecessarily whilst the vehicle was stationery on a public road, doing this could incur a fixed penalty fine”.
The Council’s Legal Advisor, advised that a breach of this condition could be applied to offence 27 stated in the report, which stated ‘failing to comply with a requirement properly made by an authorised officer or constable’.
It was noted that failure to proceed to another hackney carriage stand on finding a hackney carriage stand full (over-ranking) was also included in the breach of condition.
Members requested that an update of the scheme be provided at the next meeting of the Licensing Committee.
RESOLVEDthat Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Penalty Points Scheme be noted.