Proposed Fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles and Private Hire Operator's Licences 2024/25
Have your say.
Consultation status ArchivedActivity 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."
In December 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.
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 2024/25 were discussed at the JPPC meeting held on the Wednesday, 2 October 2023.
West Berkshire Council's Licensing Committee considered the proposed fees at a meeting held on Monday, 6 November 2023.
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 2024/25 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, 29 February 2024.
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 from £64p/h to £68.25p/h for 2024/25 (increase of 6.7% which was in line with CPI at the end of August 2023).
The proposed fees are set out in full below:
Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Vehicle Licence | |
|---|---|
| Hackney Carriage Vehicle new / renewal | £307 / £273 |
| Private Hire Vehicle new / renewal | £307 / £273 |
| Private Hire Vehicle with dispensation / renewal | £307 / £273 |
| Temporary Vehicle Licence (issued up to 3 months maximum) | £273 |
| Private Hire Operator Licence | |||
|---|---|---|---|
New Per vehicle calculation of 3.5 hours (at £64.00 hourly rate) plus an hour per year (years 2-5) for first vehicle, plus 15 minutes per additional vehicle per years (years 1-5) up to a maximum of 20 vehicles. Renewal Per vehicle calculation of 1.5 hours (at £64 hourly rate) plus an hour per year (years 2-5) for first vehicle, plus 15 minutes per additional vehicle per years (years 1-5) up to a maximum of 20 vehicles. | Number of vehicles | New | Renewal |
| 1 | £512 | £375 | |
| 2 | £597 | £461 | |
| 3 | £682 | £546 | |
| 4 | £768 | £631 | |
| 5 | £853 | £717 | |
| 6 | £938 | £802 | |
| 7 | £1024 | £887 | |
| 8 | £1109 | £973 | |
| 9 | £1194 | £1058 | |
| 10 | £1280 | £1143 | |
| 11 | £1365 | £1229 | |
| 12 | £1450 | £1314 | |
| 13 | £1536 | £1399 | |
| 14 | £1621 | £1484 | |
| 15 | £1706 | £1570 | |
| 16 | £1792 | £1655 | |
| 17 | £1877 | £1740 | |
| 18 | £1962 | £1826 | |
| 19 | £2048 | £1911 | |
| 20 | £2133 | £1996 | |
| 20+ | £2133 | £1996 | |
| Variation to licence | £68.25 | £68.25 |
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, 21 December 2023.
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 Monday, 1 April 2024.
If objections are received, and not subsequently withdrawn the matter will be considered by the Licensing Committee at the meeting on Monday, 8 January 2024, and any changes will be recommended to Full Council for approval at their meeting on Thursday, 29 February 2024. Any variations to the fees will come into operation from Monday, 1 April 2024 onwards.
What you told us
- the majority of the objections cited the impact that the cost of living crisis was already having on their businesses and personal lives and asked that the fees were not increased
- one of the respondents raised concerns about the inflationary figures used to set the hourly rate and the omission of the wider fees from the consultation process
- two respondents raised concerns about value for money in terms of the levels of service received
- two commented on the fact that the cost of training was not being included in the driver’s licence fee as had previously been agreed and one respondent raised concerns about the operator checks not being undertaken regularly and renewal notices not being issued
Please note that the issue of training costs is being looked into and the renewal notifications have recommenced now the new system is operational.
What we did
As objections were received, they will be included in a report, along with the Council's response, for the Licensing Committee on Monday, 8 January 2024 for discussion prior to a recommendation being made to Full Council.
You can find the agenda papers for the Full Council meeting on Thursday, 29 February 2024 here.
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