Rother District Council Agenda Item: 5.1
Committee - Licensing and General Purposes
Date - 14 January 2010
Report of the - Director of Services
Subject - Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licence Fees
Recommendation: It be RESOLVED that:
1) Vehicle licence fees be increased to £165 from 1 April 2010; and
2) Fees should be increased and / or savings identified so that the taxi licensing budget is balanced by the financial year 2012/13.
Head of Service: Richard Parker-Harding
1. Under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 sub-section 53(2), fees for hackney carriage and driving licences have to be reasonable with a view to recovering the cost of issue and administration, but not raising revenue. Council policy is that when setting fee levels the aim of the authority will be to try and ensure the income received equals the expenditure incurred in providing the licensing function (Minute LG08/23).
2. Subsection 70(3) sets out special requirements in relation to hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licences and private hire operator’s licenses. In these cases a notice must be published in a local newspaper stating the proposed fees and giving 28 days for objections to be received. If there are no objections the increase may be implemented, but otherwise the matter must be reported back for consideration of the objections. At your meeting on 17 September 2009 an increase of vehicle fees to £165 was proposed. The proposal has been advertised and objections received (see Appendix A).
3. Survey of other authorities
Our vehicle licences are considerably less than other authorities, as illustrated in the table below.
Licence fees charged by other authorities
HC Vehicle / PH Vehicle / HC Driver / PH Driver / PH Operator / HC Driver +VehicleRother (proposed) / 165 / 165 / 105 / 105 / 95 / 270
Adur* / 347 / 255 / 87.8 / 87.8 / 203.5 / 435
Arun* / 210 / 204 / 51.50 / 51.50 / 128 / 266
Eastbourne* / 187 / 95 / 255 / 255 / 144 / 442
Hastings* / 176 / 176 / 104 / 104 / 77 / 280
Horsham* / 238 / 214 / 64 / 64 / 144 / 302
Lewes* / 160 / 160 / 100 / 100 / 60 / 260
Sevenoaks* / 262 / 262 / 36 / 36 / 87 / 298
Wealden* / 135 / 120 / 120 / 120 / 87 / 255
Worthing* / 209 / 177 / 86 / 86 / 347 / 295
* 2009
4. Budget shortfall
The current budget shortfall is £34,000, which is the same as the shortfall in 2007/2008. If vehicle licence fees were increased to £165 in 2010 this would result in an estimated budget shortfall of £24,000. The table below shows the estimated shortfall for a range of fee increases. Further financial information is provided in Appendix B, from which it can be seen that the Council has cut the cost of administering the service over the last 3 years by 11%.
Fee level / Shortfall£110 (present fee) / £34,000
£125 / £31,000
£145 / £27,000
£165 / £24,000
£220 / £15,000
£310 / Nil
5. The 2010/11 draft budget has been prepared on the basis that this fee of £165 is agreed by Members. Any reduction in fees will require equivalent savings to be made.
6. Increase in fees
For a hackney carriage driver who also holds a hackney carriage vehicle licence the total annual fees for both licences will increase from £215 to £270, an increase of 26%. For a private hire driver, who also holds a private hire vehicle licence and private hire operator licence, the total annual fees for the three licences will increase from £290 to £365, an increase of 26%.
Conclusion
7. To reduce the present budget shortfall it is proposed that the vehicle licence fees are increased to £165 in 2010.
Anthony Leonard
Director of Services
Risk Assessment Statement
An increase in the shortfall in the taxi licensing budget may impact on the provision of other services.
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Appendix A
From: Mr S Gaines (Secretary, Rother District Taxi Association)
This has been worded in a very underhand way that deceives the public at large. You have just stated the new proposed cost and not mentioned the previous cost.
Let me just remind you, in case you haven’t bothered to work it out in your head!
Hackney Plate cost now £110.00. Proposed cost April 2010 £165.00 THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE FIFTY PERCENT INCREASE!
Private Hire Plate cost now £90.00. Proposed cost April 2010 £165.00 AN EVEN MORE LUDICROUS EIGHTY THREE PERCENT INCREASE!
At the last meeting of the LICENSING & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE (17 Sept 2009) the Council stated that ‘the current budget shortfall was £34,000 similar to the shortfall in 2007/2008’. Could you not see then, that DUE TO THE BUDGET SHORTFALL you should have tried to identify ways in cutting costs so that in this financial year you would not have a similar problem!!
Finally, is this shortfall solely in the Taxi Licensing Dept, or has it been mismanaged throughout the whole of the Environmental Health Department.
From: Mr B C Randall
A rise of 50% is outrageous. We are undergoing hardships in that our takings have dropped 50% during the recession and I can see no let up in the foreseeable future. At this present time I am finding it very hard to make ends meet. Fuel is constantly rising so are all my other outgoings.
I can see no way to cut back further. Now the Council wants to add another nail to my coffin. There are more and more taxis being registered and often than not I spend most of my day going round and round trying to find a space on one of the ranks only to sit there for an hour or more before I get a fare.
If I have had to cut back on my expenses then why can’t the Hackney Carriage Office cut back their expenses or wages. Why should it always be the man on the street who has to suffer and not those that are supposed to be supporting them in their endeavours to earn an honest crust.
From: Mr D Thorogood
I consider this increase outrageous. How can RDC justify this huge increase in the fees (in the current economic climate) when they are also asking us to pay the cost of the new vehicle compliance tests?
I strongly object to the proposals and suggest that the increase should be no more than the current increase in inflation.
If the Council decides to impose this change of condition to my Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence I will seek legal advice from the Federation of Small Businesses with a view to lodging an appeal against the proposed increase in charges.
From: Mr L Rosati
I have to raise an objection to the proposed fee increase, as the intended figures quoted by Rother are far beyond any reasonable percentage. To raise the Hackney fees from £110.00 to £165.00 is an increase of 50%. The Private Hire increase from £90.00 to £165.00 is an increase of 83%. I am sure if your personal costs were to be raised by this level you would find it totally unacceptable.
Whilst both Hackney & Private Hire operatives struggle to compete for business in this economic downturn, we also have to endure the influx of Wealden licensed vehicles also having a bite of our diminishing cake! Without having to comply to the same guidelines as set by Rother District Council, not what you might call an even playing field!
As Bexhill is the main town in Rother most licensed vehicles ply for their trade within the town, they cannot exist in the more rural areas, hence the abundance of licensed vehicles all gathering on the limited rank space barely earning the minimal wage.
If you intend to raise the fees to the published levels then serious consideration should be given to regulation being implemented to allow the existing licence holders a chance of survival.
From: Mr P Haddock
The proposed increase to £165 represents an increase of 83%, which in the current financial climate is totally unacceptable. This comes at a time when most businesses in our trade have to cope with reduced levels of business and therefore less income. Even at any other time, there are no other sectors of our society that would allow this level of increase, i.e. 83% increase in council tax – 83% increase in household electricity/gas or telecom costs. Any of these types of organisations would be capped by a regulatory body and/or public protests. Whereas, we are at the mercy of a Council that enjoys monopoly over our fees.
I feel that these increases are only being introduced to cover Council funding shortfalls and that we are a soft target, as shown by the fact that the only course to object is to the same body that is imposing the increase.
From: Mr J Belcher
I can understand that fees need to be increased occasionally but this increase is huge and I know this will affect a lot of my colleagues as well as myself who have been struggling over the last few months to earn a living mainly because of the credit crunch and a lot of customers not using Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles.
In my own case I provide my customers with a top of the range vehicle to give them comfort on their journey so with the cost of buying this vehicle and the running costs e.g. car insurance, private hire licences, servicing and costs of fuel it is becoming more difficult to earn a living so every increase in fees make a huge difference to us driver owners.
From: Mr I Harmer
I hereby object to your proposed increase for April 2010, recently published in the Bexhill Observer. The grounds on which my objection is made are as follows : This proposal represents as increase of fifty five pounds per Hackney Carriage Vehicle and seventy five pounds per Private Hire Vehicle, expressed as a percentage some 50% and 83.33% respectively. I believe the Council should look at other ways of making this Department more cost effective by reducing officer time and therefore running costs. You cannot expect an already struggling essential service to suffer yet more costs in order to prop up your budget shortfall.
From: Mr P Buckland
I am writing to register my objection to the increase in this fee from £90 to £165.
No doubt you are aware of the hardship all businesses are up against at the moment and an increase of around 80% seems rather excessive.
From: Mr M Hilton
I feel the proposed increase in fees for Hackney Carriage up to 50% to £165 and Private Hire up 83% to £165 totally obscene.
Appendix C of your meeting of the 17 September 2009 shows you received a 17% increase in fee income in 2008/2009 and still you have a deficit similar to 2007/2008.
I also find the Historical Data reads rather ambiguously for 2008/2009, am I to understand that the figures shown are for the first 6 months of the financial year and salaries will actually read as £81,000, income £101,000 thus showing your confirmed budget shortfall of £34,000 and not £17,771?
In the current financial crisis and in fact at any other time it would be good to see the Council targeting real budgetary cost cuts, 5% per year for the next 5 years should be easily achievable. Businesses do, I do, and you could too. We would love some cost reductions. Rother could be the first Council to introduce reduced rates! We are not Cash Cows.
From: Mr N Robus
I would like to make my thought known with regards to the proposed increase in fees for private hire and hackney carriage vehicles.
I find it staggering that in a time of economic downturn the Council is trying to force this huge increase on our trade. A 50% increase in licence fee for hackney carriages is in my opinion unjustifiable.
It seems to me that extra costs have been incurred over the last 12 months with the introduction on the awful looking and unnecessary white stickers we have been forced to display on our vehicles, which incidentally have now faded so badly that the only relevant piece of information on them is now illegible, and also through the introduction of the again unnecessary compliance test.
Surely the Council should be looking at ways to cut running costs and streamlining the service it provides rather than making the process more complex than it needs to be and introducing ever more ridiculous ways to waste our money.
Please could you show me evidence that supports the need to increase the licence fee by such a huge amount.
From: Mr S Knight
The fact that in the middle of the greatest recession this country has ever known you think it’s acceptable to increase the fees by more than 50% is beyond belief.
Instead, if the fees you are charging do not cover the costs, then perhaps cutting costs should be the route you should be looking at.
If you have already looked at the department and found no savings are possible which I would find unlikely, then perhaps the whole department’s duties should be put out to tender to a private company.
In conclusion I do not believe that £165 is a reasonable charge for so little work and do not believe it can be justified.
From: Mr NK Croft
Objection.
Appendix B
Financial estimate
Expenditure / 2009/10 / 2010/11Salaries / 51,866 / 50,741
Supplies and services / 12,084 / 12,326
Support services / 16,332 / 16,822
Total / 80,282 / 79,888
Fee income / -46,050 / -55,965*
Shortfall / 34,232 / 23,923
* if fees increased to £165
Historical Data
Expenditure / 2006/07 / 2007/08 / 2008/09Salaries / 51,895 / 48,238 / 40,563
Supplies and services / 9,701 / 12,396 / 11,847
Support services / 15,057 / 15,829 / 15,856
Total / 76,653 / 76,464 / 68,266
Fee income / -43,926 / -42,853 / -50,495
Shortfall / 32,727 / 33,611 / 17,771
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LGP100114– Hire Licensing Fees