Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To note appointment of Substitute Members.

There were no substitute members appointed.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the later case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

There were no declarations of interest from Members.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 20 August 2013 and 5 September 2013 (to follow).

The minutes of the meetings held on 20 August 2013 and 5 September 2013 were deferred from consideration.

To consider the attached report of the Licensing Team Leader.

The Licensing Team Leader informed the Committee that Relyon Transport had applied to renew the licence for 4 Ford Transit Minibuses, (1) VX52 WXS, (2) VA03 YTN, (3) GLO4 USZ and (4) KP05 OUT, as Private Hire Vehicles.

The vehicles had not be altered since the original application and the number of seats had been reduced to a maximum of eight passengers. They were therefore within the scope of the Council's private hire licensing regime rather than having to be licensed as PSV vehicles under the VOSA regulations.

A condition had been imposed on the licence to restrict the vehicles use to the transport of passengers between the Port of Dover/Cruise Terminal and the parking facilities operated by the company in Poulton Close, Dover.

The vehicles were outside the current policy guidelines by reason that they exceeded 8 years of age at the time of the application for relicensing. The Licensing Team Leader’s report confirmed that the vehicles were in good condition and under the 300,000 mile limit. 

RESOLVED:    (a)        That  Mr D K Lamb be granted a Private Hire Vehicle licence in respect of 4 Ford Transit Minibuses as follows (1) VX52 WXS, (2) VA03 YTN, (3) GLO4 USZ and (4) KP05 OUT, for a period of 12 months.

                         (b)        That a condition be imposed on the licence to restrict the vehicles use to the transport of passengers between the Port of Dover/Cruise Terminal and the parking facilities operated by the company in Poulton Close, Dover.

To consider the attached report of the Licensing Team Leader.

The Public Protection Manager presented the report on the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 which set out the changes to the regulatory regime for scrap metal dealers. The Act replaced the previous Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 and was intended to deal with the problem of metal theft.

Under the new arrangements there would be two types of licence (Site License and a Collectors Licence), both valid for a three year period. A person could not hold more than one type of licence in the area of the authority.

The Act allowed the fees for both Site Licences and Collectors’ Licences to be set by the Council on a cost recovery basis and subject to having regard to the European Union Services Directive and any relevant licensing case law.

RESOLVED:    (a)    That authority be delegated to the Licensing Team Leader to determine non-contentious licence applications in accordance with the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.

                         (b)    That responsibility for setting all relevant fees be delegated to the Head of Regulatory Services and the Director of Governance concurrently, in conjunction with the Chairman and vice-chair of the Regulatory Committee.