Agenda and minutes

Present:

Ben Thomson – Head of Public Protection – Chair

Cllr. Sandra Walmsley – Cllr. & Chair of Licensing and Safety Panel

Michael Bridge – License Unit Manager

Andy Vernon – GMP Partnership Sergeant

Khalid Hussain – Chairman of Bury Hackney Association

Habib Ur-Rehman – GMB NW Rep for Private Hire

Matthew Freckleton – Cities Lead for Uber

Nazmul Islam – Business Engagement Officer

David Lawrie – Director of NPHTA

Charles Oakes – Hackney Carriage Drivers Association

Muhammed Warraich - Private Hire Drivers Association

Sham Raja – NPHTA

Minutes: Maureen Foden

1.

Apologies

Cllr. Charlotte Morris, Laura Swann, Laura Jones

2.

Adoption of Terms of Reference

At the last meeting it was agreed to produce Terms of Reference for the group, which was actioned, and they were circulated for comment.

There have been a number of minor alterations which Ben Thomson went through with the group.

The document will be published on the Council’s website on the Trade Liaison webpage for full trade access.

3.

Matters arising Agree minutes of previous meeting 8/4/2022

BT went through the actions from the last meeting, they will also be published along with the minutes which were signed off on the Council’s website on the Trade Liaison webpage for full trade access. An e-mail will be circulated advising the trade that the page is now live and they will be able to view all relevant documentation.

Recommendations for reporting was welcomed and it was reiterated that drivers must report any incidents as it is vital to get the incident log numbers to get a true picture and this can only be done by having the correct figures.

MOTs and compliance certificates were discussed in detail, and the key things were:

·         Why do drivers have to have their vehicles tested twice which is costly not only in financial terms but time wise, one solution could be that they pay an extra £10 to have both.

·         In terms of those areas in GM that provide the additional service it is at the full cost to the drivers.

·         BT spoke to both testing stations who advised that MOT and Compliance Tests cannot be done at the same time as they both have different standards.

·         The trade questioned this as they stated that both tests can be done at the same time, 75% of councils already do this and the trade in Bury want this to happen. BT advised that Bury are undertake compliance tests in line with the majority of GM Authorities.

·         There are also concern over the incidences where a vehicle may pass the MOT but fail the Compliance test which has higher standards in some areas. 

·         It was confirmed that the DVLA sets the MOT standards, and the compliance certificate test operates from the vehicle inspection manual which breaks down every element of the test.

BT advised the Council are looking at doing further work around this, in terms of the costs further updates will be provided at future Trade Liaison Meetings.

ACTION 1:  BT to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.