Agenda item

The Licensing and Regulatory Committee are asked to note the minutes of the Sub-Committees.

The Committee noted that the minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Sub-Committees held on 6 September 2023, 13 November 2023 (South – 10am), 13 November 2023 (North – 10am), 13 November 2023 (North – 11.15am), South – 12pm), 20 November 2023, 13 December 2023 and 19 December 2023 were confirmed as correct records.

Then, as members wished to discuss an exempt minute, the Committee went into a closed session.

Resolved:

The Public and Press were asked to leave the meeting while the item was being discussed because it involved the disclosure of information relating to an individual defined as exempt by paragraphs 1 & 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Concerns were raised over a hearing involving a driver used by Transporting Somerset for school runs and the standard of training that they had been given. The driver at the hearing had stated that their employer had provided no training and they had not been given the two leaflets that the School Transport Team indicated that they should have had.

The Licensing Officer confirmed:

·         The issue had been flagged up with the School Transport Team.

·         They were just starting, as a new unitary authority, to look at harmonising the training that they provided to hackney carriage and private hire drivers.

·         Their safeguarding training had focused on the recognition of safeguard issues, exploitation and county lines.

Members, whilst acknowledging that all drivers would have to undergo a DBS check, felt that there was a need for appropriate training to be given to all drivers and that face to face training was their preferred method. Importantly,  there was also a need for all training to be recorded. They agreed that there was a need to look at the training that was provided and to highlight their concerns with the Lead Member and the Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved:

To request that Licensing:

1.     Bring a report back to the Committee on the harmonisation of the training that they provided to the taxi trade.

2.    Raise the Committee’s concerns over the training with the Lead Member for Transport and Digital.

3.    To enquire if the training provided by the School Transport Team was something that could be added to the work programme for the  Scrutiny – Children and Families Committee.