The agenda for this item may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices.?Please contact margaretodonnell@wirral.gov.uk if you would like this document in an accessible format. 

The Director of Law and Governance submitted a report requesting that the Committee consider and approve revised fees in respect of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licences.

The Licensing Manager reported that a significant gap had been identified between the income received from the licence fees and the costs associated with the provision of these statutory functions.

Members were informed that the review had identified that the current application fee did not take into account the full cost of administering the whole application process for Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Driver licences.

The Licensing Manager reported that the fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensing functions had previously been reviewed on an annual basis and following a review undertaken in March 2019 it had been identified that there had been no reason to amend the fees as the income received had been sufficient to cover the costs.  The Committee had therefore not amended the level of fees since 2018.  Following the review undertaken in February 2023 it had been identified that in order to recover the costs there was a need to increase the fees as there had been a projected gap of £56,299.00.  It had been calculated that the proposed fees as set out in Appendix 2 to the report could generate sufficient income to recover the costs of administering the functions related to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licences.

Members discussed the current fees and proposed fees in respect of change of address and replacement licences and raised concerns regarding the significant increase in the fee for new applicants.  In response, the Licensing Manager referred to the increase for renewal which would affect current drivers which was from £132 to £187, replacement licences were not frequently requested and were now emailed, therefore the significant increase was the fee for new applicants which was to cover costs which had not been accounted for previously and in effect there was no increase as they are new applications and this was a one off fee for the application process.

In response to concerns that the increase in fees may discourage new applications for drivers and that current drivers may leave, the Licensing Manager advised that this was a risk and would be kept under review and that there had been a reduction in licensed drivers since 2019.  The numbers of current Private Hire drivers and Hackney Carriage Drivers were provided which were 1,150 and 275 respectively and within this figure some Hackney Carriage Drivers also held Private Hire Driver licences.  It was hoped that the efficient and effective service provided would encourage applicants to come to Wirral and that the fees would be value for money.

Members queried the numbers of drivers currently and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Licensing Manager advised that some licensed drivers had left, however the new case management system did not provide previous numbers to make a comparison. 

The Licensing Manager further confirmed that the fees would be kept under review.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37