Issue - meetings

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the Quarter 1 report on Licensing Activity and said that the figures were skewed due to the pandemic. She drew Members attention to Annex B, Part 3 and the Pavement Licences where a row had been omitted from the report. She confirmed that there were two new applications in Quarter 1 with six existing licences coming to a total of eight issued licences. She said that Officers intended to look at how the report was presented and how the information was displayed and asked Members for any feedback.

The Chairman said that he was pleased to see new applications and drivers passing their knowledge tests. He asked if figures could be recorded on the number of drivers who leave the taxi trade.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said the information could be provided in the future.

Councillor Wilson said that there was national shortage of taxi drivers and said he had been unable to get a taxi in Bishop’s Stortford. He asked if it was possible to record the number of licences that are issued but not used.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer said an unmet demand survey was carried out 18 months ago and a cap had been placed on the number of Hackney carriage vehicle licences the authority would issue. She said that operators were reporting that they cannot employ enough drivers from East Herts and taxis were used differently across the District. It was common for people to go to the taxi rank in Hertford but in Bishop’s Stortford, phoning for a taxi was more common.

Councillor Symonds thanked Officers for their work in an enforcement case in her ward.

Councillor Redfern proposed and Councillor Goldspink seconded a motion supporting the recommendation in the report. On being put the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED -That the report be considered and reviewed.