Agendas, reports and minutes

Minute of the meeting of the Highland Licensing Committee held in the Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Tuesday 6 December 2016 at 10.00 am.

Present:

Dr I Cockburn, Mr A Duffy (from item 6), Mr C Fraser, Mr R Greene, Mr A Henderson (excluding item 7.1), Mrs L Macdonald and Ms M Smith.

In attendance:

Ms S Blease, Principal Solicitor (Regulatory Services)
Miss C McArthur, Solicitor (Regulatory Services)
Mr M Elsey, Senior Licensing Officer
Mr A Yates, Senior Environmental Health Manager
Mr C Rattar, Mr B Murdoch, Environmental Health Officer
Mrs A MacArthur, Administrative Assistant

Also attending:

Sergeant B Gray, Police Scotland
Item 6.1:         Mr R Munro, Ms A Paul, Sneckie Taxis, Mr R Ormiston, taxi driver
Item 7.1:         Mrs J O’Neill, licence holder and Mr D MacAngus, supporter
Mr R Ormiston, Prof B Robertson, Mr L Roberts, Ms S Millar, Ms K Logue, objectors
Item 8.1 and 8.2: Mr C Train, applicant
Item 10.1:       Mr B MacCallum, applicant
Item 10.2:       Mr M J Bogue, applicant and Mrs L Murray, solicitor for the applicant
Item 10.3:       Mr G Ritchie, licence holder and Mr R Munro, supporter

Dr I Cockburn in the chair

The Chairman confirmed that the meeting would be webcast and gave a short briefing on the Council’s webcasting procedure and protocol.

Business

1.  Apologies for absence
Leisgeulan

Apologies for absence were received from Mr W Mackay, Mr J Rosie, Mrs G Sinclair and Mr H Wood.

2.  Declarations of interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

There were no declarations of interest.

3.  Confirmation of minutes
Dearbhadh a’ Gheàrr-chunntais

There had been submitted for confirmation as a correct record the minute of meeting of the Committee held on 1 November 2016 which was APPROVED.

4.  Licences granted under delegated powers
Ceadachdan a Bhuilicheadh fo Ughdarras air a Thiomnadh

There had been circulated Report No HLC/086/16 by the Principal Solicitor detailing licences granted under delegated powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 in the period from 19 October to 22 November 2016.

The Committee NOTED the report.

5.  Pending applications – 3 monthly considerations
Iarrtasan ri Thighinn – Beachdachaidhean 3 Mìosach

There had been circulated Report No HLC/087/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to applications which were currently pending for the grant or renewal of licences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

A verbal update was given at Committee to include Mr A MacLennan holder of a second hand car dealer’s licence whose licence had been amended and therefore should be included in the 3 monthly considerations.

The Committee AGREED to defer determination of the applications, either:

1. to allow them to be approved under delegated powers in the event that no objections/representations are received and all outstanding documentation has been received from the applicants; or
2. to a future meeting of the Committee when the applications will be determined in terms of the hearings procedure.

6.  Taxi tariff review
Ath-sgrùdadh air Taraif Thagsaidhean

There had been circulated Report No HLC/088/15 by the Principal Solicitor advising of the feedback received from the taxi and private hire car (PHC) trade in relation to the review of the current taxi fare scales following a number of meetings held with the taxi/PHC trade in Highland, and inviting Members to consider the responses, the additional information in the report and any further submissions which members of the trade attending the meeting wished to make, and thereafter agree a draft tariff for public consultation.  Mr M Elsey amended the report at Appendix 5 to read “Waiting time £18 per hour” and not £17.50 as stated in the report.  Additionally at Appendix 5, Trading Standards had supplied the wording for a notice to be included on the tariff sheet advising customers that a charge may apply to cover the card payment fee in relation to credit card payments and if Members were so minded this could be added to the sheet.

Mr R Munro, Sneckie Taxis then addressed the Committee.  Mr Munro stated that Highland had one of the lowest tariffs in the North area but that taxi drivers and operators were charged higher licence fees than other areas in Scotland.  Mr Munro had carried out a short survey and found that while the running mileageat Tariff 1 was £1.40 per mile in Inverness, in Moray and Aberdeenshire it was £2.20 per mile and in Aberdeen City £1.95 per mile.  The waiting time in Aberdeenshire was £36 per hour, double that of Highland.  Licence fees for Highland had been increased to £422, while in Moray a licence fee of £220 had been proposed, their current fee being £160.  Aberdeen’s licence fee was £150, Perth’s was £65 for a wheelchair accessible vehicle and £275 for an ordinary vehicle and Aberdeen’s fee was £395 including tests, roof signs etc.

In response to Members’ question Mr Munro stated that the card fee was proposed to offset the cost of payments by credit cards as the company was charged a variable percentage by the supplier of the card machine for each transaction.   Sneckie Taxis requested that Highland taxi tariffs be brought into line with the UK national average fares, or at the very least the Scottish average fares, details of which were appended to Mr Munro’s letter of representation attached to the report. 

Mr R Ormiston also spoke in relation to the £8 supplementary booking charge to compensate for the cost of the outward journey for hires which commence 3 miles or more away from the taxi or taxi base.  He stressed that this was inadequate compensation for taxis operating in rural areas where the outward journey to a pick up point could be many miles away.  He suggested that the charge should reflect the actual charge (at the tariff applicable at the time of the journey) which would apply for the outward journey to the pick up point if the meter was switched on from the taxi’s starting point.

Each item of the tariff was then discussed in turn and the Committee AGREED a draft tariff for public consultation as detailed below:

Tariff 1

No change to flag fall
Increase running mileage from £1.40 to £1.50 per mile

Tariff 2

No change to flag fall or running mileage

Tariff 3

No change to flag fall or running mileage

Waiting Time

Increase from £18 per hour to £25 per hour

Credit Card Payment Fee

Add a notice to the tariff sheet advising that it is admissible for an additional charge to be made for customers who wish to pay by credit card, provided the customer is informed of the amount of the charge at the time of booking or before the journey begins.  However that charge cannot be higher than the fee directly charged to the operator for using that credit card to take payment.

Soiling Charge

Increase from a maximum of £60 to a maximum of £100.

Outward Journey Supplementary Booking Charge

The supplementary booking charge for hires which commence 3 miles or more away from the taxi or taxi base (whichever is the nearer) shall be no more than the actual cost at the Tariff 1 rate of travelling between the starting location of the taxi or the location of the taxi base (as the case may be)and the pick-up point or drop-off point, whichever is closer to the taxi or taxi base.  This charge is in addition to the fare chargeable at the appropriate tariff for the journey from the pick-up point to the drop-off point.  This charge may only be demanded if the customer is informed of the amount of the charge at the time of booking.

7.  Riding Establishments Acts 1964 and 1970
Riding establishment licence
Achd nan Ionadan Marcachd 1964 agus 1970
Ceadachd Ionad Marcachd

7.1  Premises - Northwilds, Fendom, Tain

There had been circulated Report No HLC/089/16 by the Legal Manager relating to an application for renewal of a riding establishment licence from Mrs Jan O’Neill in respect of premises at Northwilds, Fendom, Tain.

Mr A Yates spoke on behalf of the Environmental Health Service.  He advised that there had been issues with the outbreak of the strangles virus at the riding establishment.  The strangles virus was a common horse disease, that was not a notifiable disease, but was highly contagious and took 3-14 days to show symptoms.  The property and animals had been visited by a specialist veterinary inspector, employed by the Council, and her report was included in the papers.  Environmental Health took their advice from the veterinary inspector and also considered the welfare of the animals under the Animal Welfare Act.  Objectors had concerns regarding qualifications, and although the staff had qualifications, no qualifications were in fact required to operate a riding centre.  The Guidance indicated that relevant experience could be also considered. .  The inspector’s report stated that she was assured of the standards of management in regard to local lessons and hacking but that the trail riding should not be permitted under the licence. 

In response to Members’ questions, Mr Yates responded as follows:

• Environmental Health were taking forward an investigation in relation to the matters in August and the investigation could take longer than a three month period; and
• in respect of the investigation by the Planning Service and Trading Standards, he was unable to comment due to the ongoing investigation.

The applicant had no questions for the Environmental Health officers.

Mrs J O’Neill, the applicant, then addressed the Committee.  She advised that 2016 had been a difficult year and she regretted having overstretched herself.  In relation to the strangles virus, theirs was not the only stable to be infected.  On advice from the veterinary inspector, steps were undertaken to contain the outbreak and the relevant horses, and although the horses had recovered they still remained in quarantine.  A vigilante group had been formed and several of the objectors had condemned the premises without ever having visited.  Mrs O’Neill stated that her staff were trained and outlined their qualifications and reminded members that a qualification was not needed to lead a trail ride, experience was all that was necessary.

In response to questions from the objectors, Mr Yates responded as follows: 

• the PVG scheme is run by Disclosure Scotland and it was outwith the Council remit to ask for this material, the Council was looking into this for future licences; and
• the Riding Establishments Act focused on the welfare of horses and Environmental Health also monitored this under the Animal Welfare Act 2006; there had been nothing that had warranted formal investigation, so Environmental Health had not objected on welfare grounds.

In response to questions from the objectors, the applicant responded as follows:

• the horses available at the time had been presented for inspection, some horses were on a trek, had been retired or were being looked after for someone else;
• an outline of the specific qualifications held by each member of staff was given with an outline of when these would be updated; 
• they did have a lot of volunteers but the volunteers did not lead rides;
• unfortunately at the time of the outbreak the applicant had not been at the stable but had believed that neighbours had been notified;
• risk assessments had been done for all trail rides and for new horses coming into the stable; and
• the applicant would certainly undertake saddle inspections in the future.

The objectors and the applicant then summed up. 

In response to objectors’ comments, Mr Yates advised that a press release had been issued by The Highland Council giving guidance on the strangles virus to all horse riders in Scotland.  The main concerns had been with the management of the stables and the veterinary inspector had stated that a provisional licence excluding trail riding would be suitable.

Following discussion, the Committee AGREED:

1. to refuse a licence to carry out long distance trail riding; and
2. to grant a provisional licence to carry out local trekking, hacking and lessons, operating from Northwilds only, subject to final conditions being agreed by Environmental Health.
3. to grant delegated power to the Environmental Health Manager to renew the provisional licence for a further 3 month period on expiry if so recommended by the specialist vet, but otherwise to refuse to renew the provisional licence.
4.  that any application for a full licence to come into effect on expiry of the provisional licence be referred to the Committee for determination.

8.  Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982
Taxi driver’s / operator’s licences
Achd Riaghaltais Chatharra (Alba) 1982
Iarrtasan airson cheadachdan do dhràibhearan / oibrichean tagsaidh

8.1  Application for taxi driver’s licence – Calum Train

There had been circulated Report No HLC/090/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to an application which has been received from Calum Train for the grant of a taxi driver’s licence.  Mr Train, had since the papers had been issued, passed his taxi driver knowledge test. 

The Committee NOTED that the taxi driver’s licence had now been granted under delegated powers as the applicant has now passed his knowledge test.

8.2  Application for taxi operator’s licence – Calum Train

There had been circulated Report No HLC/091/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to an application which has been received from Calum Train for the grant of a taxi operator’s licence.

Mr Train confirmed that his application had been held up by his insurance and that he hoped it would be finalised this week.

The Committee AGREED to provide the Principal Solicitor with delegated powers to grant the taxi operator’s licence if the applicant submitted a current MOT, insurance certificate and V5 registration document by 15 December 2016 and if the documents had not been provided by this date to provide the Principal Solicitor with delegated powers to refuse the taxi operator’s licence.

9.  The Committee is asked to resolve that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following Items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.

10.  Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982
Taxi driver’s / operator’s licences
Achd Riaghaltais Chatharra (Alba) 1982
Iarrtasan airson cheadachdan do dhràibhearan / oibrichean tagsaidh

10.1  Application for the grant of a taxi driver’s licence – Brian MacCallum

There had been circulated to members only Report No HLC/092/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to an application which has been received from Brian MacCallum for the grant of a taxi driver’s licence.  Mr MacCallum had failed to meet the Group 2 (PSV) standard.

Mr MacCallum spoke to his application and requested that his licence be granted.

As the Committee required that taxi drivers meet the Group 2 (PSV) [text removed from web version in compliance with Data Protection Act 1998] the Committee agreed to REFUSE the application on the ground that the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold the licence by reason of [text removed from web version in compliance with Data Protection Act 1998].

10.2  Application for the grant of a temporary taxi driver’s licence – Mark J Bogue

There had been circulated to members only Report No HLC/093/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to an application which has been received from Mark J Bogue for the grant of a temporary taxi driver’s licence.  The report advised that a letter of objection had been received from Police Scotland.

Mrs L Murray, the applicant’s solicitor, and Sergeant B Gray both addressed the Committee.

The Committee AGREED to grant the application.

10.3  Licensed taxi driver – George Ritchie

There had been circulated to members only Report No HLC/094/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to George Ritchie who is the holder of a taxi driver’s licence.  The report advised that a letter of objection to Mr Ritchie’s continuing to hold the licence had been received from Police Scotland.

The Committee then heard from the Sergeant B Gray, the applicant and his employer, Mr R Munro.  

The Committee AGREED to take no action.

10.4  Licensed taxi driver – David Farmer

There had been circulated to members only Report No HLC/095/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to David Farmer who is the holder of a taxi driver’s licence.  The Report advised that following a letter from Mr Farmer’s doctor, his licence had been suspended due to his failure to meet the Group 2 (PSV) medical standard.

The Committee AGREED to grant to continue the suspension of the licence on medical grounds but to grant delegated power to the Principal Solicitor to recall the suspension if confirmation has been received by 12 March 2017 that the licence holder meets the Group 2 (PSV) [text removed from web version in compliance with Data Protection Act 1998].

10.5  Application for the grant of a taxi driver’s licence – David Farmer

There had been circulated to members only Report No HLC/096/16 by the Principal Solicitor relating to an application which has been received from David Farmer for the renewal of a taxi driver’s licence.

The Committee AGREED to grant delegated powers to grant the application once confirmation is received that the applicant meets the Group 2 (PSV) [text removed from web version in compliance with Data Protection Act 1998] and to refuse the application if no such confirmation is received by 12 March 2017.

11.  Dates of Meetings in 2017
Cinn-latha Choinneamhan ann an 2017

The Committee NOTED the dates for meetings of the Committee in 2017, as agreed at The Highland Council on 27 October 2016. 

The meeting closed at 2.00 pm.