PAPER B
Committee: FULL COUNCIL
Date: 19 JULY 2006
Title: REPEAL EXISTING BYELAWS WITH RESPECT TO HACKNEY CARRIAGES IN THE FORMER
BOROUGHS.
REPORT
OF THE CABINET
MEMBER FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES AND FIRE AND RESCUE MODERNISATION
IMPLEMENTATION DATE: To be two calendar months following the date determined by the Secretary
of State for Transport
___________________________________________________________________
1.
To invite the Full Council to repeal the existing
byelaws with respect to hackney carriages for:
(a)
The former Borough of Ryde
(b)
The former Borough of Newport
(c)
The former Urban District of Cowes
(d)
The former Borough of South Wight to include:
(i)
The former Urban District of Ventnor
(ii)
The former Urban District of Sandown-Shanklin
(iii)
The former Rural District of the Isle of Wight
2.
A byelaw is a law which is made by a body, such as
a local authority. They are made under
an enabling power established by an Act of Parliament, and which has been confirmed
by the Secretary of State. Byelaws generally require something to be done or
not to be done in a particular location and are accompanied by some criminal sanction
or penalty for their non-observance.
3.
Licence
conditions are not laws but are rules under which the licence holder must operate.
Conditions may be imposed by a local authority under an enabling power
established by an Act of Parliament. They are not accompanied by a criminal
sanction or penalty.
4.
The
regulation of hackney carriages in the Isle of Wight area is currently controlled
by three regulatory tools namely byelaws; conditions imposed by the Council and
by primary legislation (Acts of Parliament). Byelaws do not apply to Private Hire Vehicles, Operators or
Drivers.
5.
The
Isle of Wight is currently divided into four zones for hackney carriage licensing.
Each zone is based on the geographic areas of the former Borough of Ryde, the former
Borough of Newport, the former Urban District of Cowes and the former Borough
of South Wight incorporating the Urban District of Ventnor, the former Urban
District of Sandown-Shanklin and the Rural District of the Isle of Wight.
Separate byelaws currently apply to each zone.
6.
If byelaws
are no longer necessary to address an identified nuisance then the Council may
repeal them. The Council has recently adopted in principle, new licensing
conditions for hackney carriage licensing and the new
licensing conditions incorporate all existing byelaws with the exception of the
driver’s entitlement to remuneration for delivering found property to its
owner. Therefore, the current
byelaws are in the whole a duplicative regulatory tool.
7.
If the
Council repeals the byelaws, it is not required to create new byelaws for the
single area of the Isle of Wight unless there remains an identified nuisance
that cannot be adequately regulated or prohibited by an alternative method. The
new licensing conditions are an appropriate and adequate alternative method of
regulation.
8.
The
byelaws for the former Borough of Ryde, the Former Borough of Newport and the
former Urban District of Cowes were made by the Medina Borough Council on 21
January 1994 and confirmed by the Secretary of State. They came into operation on 1 January 1995. (Appendix 1)
9.
There
are a series of byelaws for the former South Wight Borough that were made by
the former Urban District of Ventnor, the former Urban District of
Sandown-Shanklin and the Rural District of the Isle of Wight and by the South
Wight Borough Council. This report is in respect of all byelaws affecting
hackney carriages on the island. (Appendix 2)
10.
The
byelaws referred to in paragraph 8 and 9 above are hereinafter referred to as
“existing byelaws”.
11.
At a meeting of the Overarching Regulatory Committee
held on Tuesday 17 January 2006, the committee
resolved that the existing zones for hackney carriage licensing on the Isle of
Wight be amalgamated in to one zone, and that a formal submission to that
effect be made to the Secretary of State for Transport.
12.
On 31 January 2006, a report was submitted to
the Secretary of State for Transport (SOS) formally requesting approval of the
resolution made by the committee on 17 January 2006. A response from the SOS is
still awaited.
13.
The approval
of the SOS to amalgamate the zones is not a prerequisite to repeal the existing byelaws for hackney
carriages. It is anticipated that the resolution will be approved. If not, the
implementation of the newly produced licensing conditions will still go ahead.
The licensing conditions will duplicate the existing byelaws which will not
then be required (as mentioned in paragraphs 6 and 7 above). The Council will
not therefore need to create new byelaws.
14.
The importance of the Secretary of State’s decision is
therefore relevant only to the implementation and time frame for the
amalgamation of zones and not to the necessity or otherwise for byelaws.
15.
Adoption of New Licensing Conditions
At a
meeting of the Overarching Regulatory Committee held on Tuesday 16 May 2006,
the committee considered the adoption of newly produced Hackney Carriage and
Private Hire licence conditions and the adoption of a Convictions Policy in respect of drivers of hackney
carriages and private hire vehicles.
16.
The Committee resolved
(i)
To approve
the conditions for hackney carriage proprietors; private hire vehicles; private
hire operators and hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licences in principle
only and to ratify the decision at a later date.
(ii)
To approve a
policy relating to the relevance of criminal convictions.
(iii)
That a paper
be submitted to full Council to repeal the existing byelaws and to resolve not
to create new byelaws, in respect of the existing byelaws for hackney carriages.
17.
The Overarching Regulatory Committee will meet on
Tuesday 12 June 2006 to consider ratification of its resolution. The decision
of the committee will be verbally reported to Full Council.
18.
The proposed
implementation date for new licensing conditions is two months following the
notification of the decision of the SOS for the amalgamation of zones for
hackney carriage licensing irrespective of whether the resolution is approved.
This would allow a reasonable period of time in which to notify hackney
carriage proprietors and drivers.
19.
If the
Council resolves to repeal the existing byelaws, the proposed date to repeal the
existing byelaws is the same date as in paragraph 18 above.
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
20.
The decision to repeal the existing byelaws in respect
of Hackney Carriages accords with the Corporate Plan and the Environmental
Health Service Plan 2006-2007.
21.
The decision will also contribute to driving the
sustainable economic regeneration and development of the Island. This will be
achieved by improving standards of and accessibility to hackney carriages.
22.
A public consultation on the byelaws and draft
conditions in respect of hackney carriage licensing has been conducted in
accordance with the Isle of Wight Council Consultation Strategy and Good
Practice Guidance (October 2005).
23.
The consultation was considered by the Regulatory Committee
at the meeting of 16 May 2006 and has not therefore, been included within this
report.
24.
Following consultation with members of the Isle of
Wight Taxi Proprietors Association; members of the Ryde Taxi Trade; comments
received at the Licensing Roadshows and having had regard to the consultation
responses, a number of amendments have been made to the draft conditions in
line with the wishes of the consultees.
25.
Further consultation is not required.
26.
Broadly, Council expenditure on Licensing matters and
specifically those matters administered and enforced through Environmental
Health, balances income generated from fees.
This arrangement is not expected to change by repealing the byelaws for
Hackney Carriages.
27.
Byelaws are subordinate legislation that is enabled by
primary legislation. As such the Council must exercise the enforcement of the
byelaws in a fair and reasonable manner. The Council’s enforcement strategy
does not require the use of the byelaws.
However whilst the byelaws remain extant there is a possibility of a
person challenging the Local Authority’s failure to enforce.
28.
There are minimal if any Human Rights considerations
in the revocation of the existing byelaws Article 8 (right to privacy and
family life) and Article 1 of the first protocol (right to peaceful enjoyment
of possessions) of the European Convention of Human Rights were considered by
the Regulatory Committee in deciding its resolution on 16 May 2006.
OPTIONS
29.
Option 1
(a)
To repeal
all existing byelaws relating to Hackney Carriages in the Isle of Wight area as
follows. This to take effect two calendar months following the notification of
the decision of the SOS for the amalgamation of zones for hackney carriage licensing
irrespective of whether the resolution is approved.
(b)
In the former
Borough of Ryde made by the Medina Borough Council on 21 January 1994 and
confirmed by the Secretary of State;
(c)
In the
former Borough of Newport made by the Medina Borough Council on 21 January 1994
and confirmed by the Secretary of State;
(d)
In the former
Urban District of Cowes made by the Medina Borough Council on 21 January 1994
and confirmed by the Secretary of State;
(e)
Made by the
former Urban District Council of Ventnor
on 11th May 1971 and confirmed by the Secretary of State on
13th July 1971;
(f)
Made by the
Rural District Council on 13th December 1949 and confirmed by the
Secretary of State on 22nd March 1950.
(g)
Made by the
former Urban District Council of Sandown-Shanklin on 20th October
1948 and confirmed by the Secretary of State on 23rd December 1948.
(h)
Made by the
former Urban District Council of Sandown-Shanklin on 15th May 1973
and confirmed by the Secretary of State on 24th July 1973.
(i)
Made by the
South Wight Borough Council on 25th March 1975 and confirmed by the
Secretary of State on 22nd May 1975
(j)
Made by the
South Wight Borough Council on 17th February 1976 and confirmed by
the Secretary of State on 2nd April 1976
30.
Option 2 To retain the existing byelaws in respect
of Hackney Carriages.
31.
Option 3 To repeal the existing byelaws in respect
of Hackney Carriages and resolve to consult and prepare new byelaws relating to
hackney carriages for the single area of the Isle of Wight.
32.
It is expected that the current staffing levels in the
licensing team will be sufficient to accommodate the creation of Hackney Carriage
and Private Hire licence conditions.
|
RECOMMENDATION That the Isle of Wight
Council repeals all existing byelaws as detailed in option 1 above in respect
of Hackney Carriages and resolve not to create new byelaws in respect of
Hackney Carriages at this instance. |
APPENDICES (AVAILABLE ON THE COUNCIL’S WEBSITE ONLY)
33.
Appendix 1 The
byelaws for the former Borough of Ryde,
34.
Appendix 2 The byelaws for the former Borough the former Borough of Newport,
35.
Appendix 3 The
byelaws for the former Urban District of Cowes,
all made by Medina Borough
Council on 21 January 1994 and confirmed by the Secretary of State and came
into operation on 1 January 1995.
36.
Appendix 4 The byelaws for the former Urban District of Ventnor,
37.
Appendix 5 The byelaws for the former Urban District
of Sandown-Shanklin,
38.
Appendix 6 The byelaws for the former and the Rural
District of the Isle of Wight,
all made by South Wight
Borough Council.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
39.
Minutes of a
meeting of the Regulatory Committee held at County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight,
on Tuesday, 16 May 2006 commencing at 4.00 pm
40.
Minutes of a
meeting of the Regulatory Committee held at County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight,
on Tuesday, 17 January 2006 commencing at 4.00 pm
41.
Minutes of a
meeting of the Regulatory Committee held at County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight,
on Tuesday, 5 July 2006 commencing at 4.00 pm
42.
Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister: Local Authority Byelaws in England: Discussion
Paper. Procedures for making, confirming
and enforcing Byelaws. April 2006.
43.
Isle of Wight Council Good Practice Guide to
Consultation October 2005
44.
Isle of Wight Council Consultation Strategy October
2005
45.
Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit Code of Practice
on Consultation.
46.
Isle of Wight Council Hackney Carriage and Private
Hire Licensing (Draft Conditions) Public Consultation March 2006.
47.
Isle of Wight Council Hackney Carriage and Private
Hire Licensing (Draft Conditions) Public Consultation (Results) April 2006.
48.
Isle of Wight Council Report to the Secretary of State
for Transport “Hackney Carriage Licensing (Amalgamation of Zones) January
2006”.
49.
Existing Isle of Wight Council Conditions for Hackney Carriage
and Private Hire licences.
50.
Minutes of
meeting with the Isle of Wight Taxi Proprietors Association 29 March 2006
51.
Disclosure
of Criminal Records: Applicants for Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Vehicle
Driver’s Licence (DOT Circular 2/92; HO Circular 13/92)
52.
None
Contact Point: Warren Haynes, Environmental Health Manager ( 823151
David
Curtis-Botting, Licensing Officer, ( 825155
|
Rob Owen Head of Consumer Protection |
Councillor Barry Abraham Cabinet
Member for Safer Communities and Fire and Rescue Modernisation |