Proposed Fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles and Private Hire Operator's Licences 2023/24

Activity closed. Results published.

Background

In accordance with Section 70 (1) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 the Council is required to undertake a statutory 28 day consultation when variations to hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and private hire operator's fees are proposed.

The legislation states that:  "...a district council may charge such fees for the grant of vehicle and operators' licences as may be resolved by them from time to time and as may be sufficient in the aggregate to cover in whole or in part:

(a)     the reasonable cost of the carrying out by, or on behalf of the district council of inspections of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles for the purpose of determining whether any such licence should be granted or renewed;
(b)     the reasonable cost of providing hackney carriage stands; and
(c)    any reasonable administrative or other costs in connection with the foregoing and with the control and supervision of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles."

On Tuesday, 12 December 2017, the Joint Public Protection Committee (JPPC) agreed, as a matter of principle, that all fees and charges should be set on the basis of full cost recovery, so as not to create a surplus or deficit.

For 2021/22 the full cost of the service, including internal support service re-charges and the current establishment lists, were updated following a discussion at the 28 September 2020 JPPC meeting. This resulted in a rate of £59 p/h. These rates were retained for 2022/23. 

The JPPC is required by the Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA) that set up the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) shared service, to recommend a draft set of fees and charges to each of the member Councils (Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire). The proposed fees for 2023/24 were discussed at the JPPC meeting held on the Wednesday, 5 October 2022.

At their meeting on Monday, 7 November 2022, the Licensing Committee considered the proposed fees and in particular noted that:

• the content of the knowledge test and the associated fee would be reviewed ahead of the 2024/25 budget-setting cycle
• the cost of DBS checks would be reduced from £79 to £70
• a fee-based remittance scheme, subsidised by the Council, be introduced from 1 April 2023 for both electric and hybrid taxi vehicle licences, whereby a 100% remittance be applied to all electric vehicles and a 50% remittance be applied to hybrid vehicles that are zero emission capable (ZEC)

The Licensing Committee agreed that save for the hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and private hire operator's fees, all of the Public Protection Partnership Fees and Charges fees 2023/24 would go forward for consideration as part of the council's fee-setting process, with the final determination to be made at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 2 March 2023.

The hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and private hire operator's fees would be subjected to the statutory consultation process. 

What we are proposing

In light of the current inflation rate it is proposed to increase the hourly rate to £64p/h for 2023/24 (increase of 8.47%), the first time the hourly rate has been increased in three years.

The proposed fees are set out in full below:

How to take part

You can comment on or object to the proposals by email to PPPConsultations@westberks.gov.uk or by post to Mr Sean Murphy, Public Protection Manager, Public Protection Partnership, Theale Library, Church Street, Theale, Berkshire RG7 5BZ by midnight on Thursday, 15 December 2022.

Please include your name, and whether you're an interested member of the public, taxi owner etc. Any personal information you provide will be kept confidential, and used in accordance with our privacy notice.

If you have any questions, please contact PPPConsultations@westberks.gov.uk

For general enquiries about Taxi and private hire licences, please visit our webpage.

What happens next

If no objections are received, or any such objections are subsequently withdrawn, the revised fees will come into operation for any licences commencing from Saturday, 1 April 2023.

If objections are received, and not subsequently withdrawn the matter will be considered by the Licensing Committee at the meeting on Monday, 23 January 2023, and any changes will be recommended to Full Council for approval at their meeting on Thursday, 2 March 2023.  Any variations to the fees will come into operation from Saturday, 1 April 2023 onwards.