Councillors T Norbury, J Bird and T Cottier declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of them being Members of Unite the Union (minute 13 refers).

The Director of Governance and Assurance submitted a report requesting the Committee to consider whether to adopt a policy relating to the type of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles to be licensed as Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicles.

The Licensing Manager reported that it was currently a requirement that all vehicles to be licensed as Hackney Carriage Vehicles must be purpose built and built to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs and that there was currently no specification regarding whether the wheelchair must be loaded from the side or rear of the vehicle.  All vehicles currently licensed as Hackney Carriage Vehicles load the wheelchair from the side of the vehicle.

Members were also informed that there was currently no requirement for Private Hire Vehicles to be built to accommodate wheelchairs and although there are vehicles licensed as Private Hire Vehicles that are able to accommodate wheelchairs and which load from the rear, these vehicles are restricted to only undertake school contract work.

The Licensing Manager reported upon consultation that had been undertaken in respect of the use of rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicles that use both ramps and tailgates.  A consultation exercise had been undertaken between 5 August and 13 September 2019.  Members were advised that the consultation had included an online questionnaire and all drivers had been notified of the consultation in writing and how to access the online questionnaire.  A number of organisations had also been contacted directly by email and asked to respond to the consultation.  The Committee had been provided with the full responses to the consultation as well as a summary of the views expressed by those who responded to the consultation which highlighted advantages and disadvantages to the use of rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Further to questions from Members, the Licensing Manager confirmed that training could be provided to drivers on the loading of wheelchairs into rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Members were advised that it had been evident from the consultation that there was no consensus of opinion regarding the use of rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicles therefore Members of the Committee would need to balance the different views, from both the positive and negative feedback received when considering the options which were:

Hackney Carriage vehicles

Either:

i)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage Vehicle must be a side loading wheelchair accessible vehicle; or

ii)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage Vehicle may be a side loading wheelchair accessible vehicle or a rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Private Hire Vehicles

Either:

i)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle that is wheelchair accessible must be a side loading wheelchair accessible vehicle; or

ii)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle that is wheelchair accessible may be a side loading wheelchair accessible vehicle or a rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicle; or

iii)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle that is wheelchair accessible and is a rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicle may only be used to undertake school contract work.

Members discussed both the advantages and disadvantages of the use of rear loading accessible vehicles as licensed Private Hire and Hackney Carriage vehicles and following a motion by Councillor T Norbury and seconded by Councillor M Collins it was - 

Resolved (10:1 with 3 abstentions)

(1) That -

(a)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage Vehicle must be a side loading wheelchair accessible vehicle; and

(b)  Any vehicle to be licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle that is wheelchair accessible and is a rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicle may only be used to undertake school contract work and must load the wheelchair using a tailgate system.

An additional motion was then moved by Councillor D Mitchell and seconded by Councillor J Bird and it was -

Resolved (unanimously) -

(2) That any vehicle currently licensed to undertake school contract work that is a rear loading wheelchair accessible vehicle fitted with a ramp can continue to be licensed until the expiry of the licence.