Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Big plans, bright future

Other Licensing Committee Minutes

Date:
Tuesday, 21st August, 2018
Time:
10:00 am
Place:
Council Chamber, High Street, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1AJ
 
Please note: all Minutes are subject to approval at the next Meeting

Attendance Details

Present:
Cllr Mrs Kathryn Nelson (In the Chair); Cllr Derrick Brown, Cllr Chris Clough, Cllr Ken Dixon, Cllr Elsi Hampton, , Cllr Mrs Jean O'Donnell, Cllr Maurice Perry, Cllr David Wilburn, Cllr Norma Wilburn and Cllr Bill Woodhead MBE.
Officers:
Margaret Waggott, Leanne Maloney-Kelly, Peter Bell (DCE); April Pilgrim (HR,L&C).
In Attendance:
None.
Apologies for absence:
Cllr Paul Kirton, Cllr Evaline Cunningham, Cllr Eileen Johnson and Cllr Julia Whitehill.
Item Description Decision
Public
OLC
28/18		 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
 There were no interests declared.
OLC
29/18		 REVIEW OF THE TRANSPORT LICENSING FEE STRUCTURE
Preamble
RESOLVED that:-

1. The proposed fees be agreed.

2. The proposed fees for vehicle and operators be published for consultation in accordance with Section 70 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

3. As there is no legal requirement to publish driver fees in accordance with Section 53 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 this practice is not continued.
10.00 am to 11.00 am.

Preamble

ItemPreamble
OLC
29/18		Consideration was given to a report on the proposed new fees for the Transport Licensing area of the service following a full review of the service and costs.

The authority undertook the licensing and administration / supervision of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles, drivers and operators, the fees charged for licenses assist in covering staffing and operational costs.

These fees were financially managed by a statutory ring-fenced trading account in compliance with audit and legal requirements.

From time to time the fee levels were adjusted to take into account the expenditure of the service, the last fee adjustment taking place in 2013. These fees were reviewed regularly and the review had determined that it was appropriate to adjust the fee levels for the grant and renewal of licences to reflect the fact that cumulative inflation, as per the Retail Prices Index (RPI), since the last fee increase was 12%.

Attached to the report were proposals for a revised schedule of fees.

There was a small reduction for vehicle licences due to efficiency savings in the processing costs of livery (though partly offset by pay/inflation pressures). By way of example, a private hire one year licence renewal reduces from £275 to £261 making Stockton's fee the lowest in the Tees Valley.

There was a 6% increase for driver licences, for example, the private hire one year licence renewal increases by £5 (less than 10p per week) from £88 to £93, which partly reflected RPI increase.

The method of calculation of operator licence fees had been changed. It was proposed that the tiered fee structure be replaced with a flat fee of £160 for the new grant of a licence with one vehicle plus an increase of £3.50 for each additional vehicle, and a flat fee of £110 for the renewal of a licence with one vehicle plus an increase of £3.50 for each additional vehicle.

It was not proposed to implement an RPI increase this year due to the change in the fee structure. As an example of the impact, the renewal cost of a five year licence for a 178-vehicle operator would reduce from £2,320 to £2,312.00.

All other fees not referred to in a table attached to the report were unchanged.

A flowchart detailing the process for fees set in accordance with Section 70 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 was attached to the report.

It was intended that fees would be reviewed on annual basis.

  • Contact

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    Municipal Buildings
    Church Road
    Stockton-on-Tees
    TS18 1LD

  • 01642 526193 or 01642 528173

  • [email protected]

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