Agenda and minutes

Councillor N Akhtar declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the matter referred to in Minute 47 below headed ‘Taxi Licensing’. He withdrew from the meeting during the consideration of this matter. 

The minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd November, 2017 were signed as a true record.

Further to Minute 37 headed ‘Student Accommodation and University City Development’ the Committee were informed that additional information requested from City Council officers had been circulated to Members. The further information requested from the two universities was still awaited and would be forwarded as soon as it was available.

Briefing Note and Presentation of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

Jim Cunningham MP, Coleen Fletcher MP and Geoffrey Robinson MP and Councillors Innes and Lakha, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for City Services, have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item along with the following representatives:

Marcus Jimenez, General Manager, Central Taxis

Alan Lewis, Unite

The Committee received a presentation from the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services and considered a briefing note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator which provided a strategic overview of the current position in relation to taxi-licensing, including the context in which local authorities operate, the current legislative context and potential developments and recent market changes. Marcus Jimenez, General Manager from Central Taxis and Alan Lewis, Unite attended the meeting for the consideration of this item along with Councillor Lakha, Deputy Cabinet Member for City Services. Councillor Duggins, Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership was also in attendance. The city’s three MPs had also been invited but were unable to attend due to prior commitments.

The presentation referred to the two types of taxis licensed in the city as follows: The Hackney Carriage (black cab) which was currently caped at 859 and operated from the taxi ranks, could be flagged down in the street, undertook pre-booked work and was required to use the metre to measure levy their charge within their licensed authority. There were currently approximately 200 private hire vehicles licensed in Coventry who could undertake pre-booked work only.

The presentation set out all the requirements to be able to be a taxi driver in the city including a comparison with the reduced requirements for other local authorities. The necessary vehicle checks were also highlighted.

The Committee were informed of the current challenges around taxi licensing which included:

Air Quality – the majority of the taxi fleet were older diesel vehicles, especially the black cabs which contributed to poor air quality. New technologies such as the LEVC TXC would help to improve air quality.

Cross Boarder Hire – an increasing number of vehicles were now trading in Coventry from local authorities with lower licensing standards and the council had no licensing power over these vehicles.

Current Legislation not Fit for Purpose – the current legislation did not deal with the rise of digital solutions and app based platforms, for example Uber; were two different types of taxi licences still needed in 2017?; should Hackney Carriages still have regulated metres?; what would happen to accessible vehicles if the market dictated a move to all private hire vehicles.

Members raised a number of questions in response to the presentation and responses were provided by the officer and the representatives present, matters raised included:

·  Details about the European Court ruling that Uber was a transport company and not a digital service and the resulting implications

·  Further details about the different requirements needed to be met to be a taxi driver in Coventry compared to the requirements for Wolverhampton and Birmingham

·  An update about what was happening across the West Midlands region regarding taxi licensing from Councillor Duggins from his perspective as Leader of the Council

·  Details of the Reading Court Case when two private hire drivers had been prosecuted for illegally plying for hire after trying the Uber Incentive Scheme

·  The importance of ensuring the safety of Coventry residents who use local taxis

·  A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Report of the Chief Executive

Councillor Duggins, Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive, which set out the Council’s progress against the Council Plan for the first half of 2017/18. A copy of the performance report was attached as an appendix to the report. The report was due to be considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 9^th January 2018. Councillor Duggins, Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership, attended the meeting for the consideration of this item and indicated that this was the last time that the Council would be considering a half year performance report. The Committee also received a presentation providing a summary of the performance report including the significant performance issues relating to globally connected and locally committed.

The Council Plan set out the Council’s strategic direction and priorities for the ten year period 2014-2024. The current plan was last revised in July 2017. The report indicated that the Council sought to promote the growth of a sustainable economy and was committed to reform so that everybody, including the city’s most vulnerable residents, could share in the benefits of growth.

The performance report detailed the progress made towards the Council Plan from April to September 2017. It set out the Council’s performance across all areas and used indicators, along with contextual and comparative information to describe and explain how the Council and the city’s performance compared to previous years and to other places. Where possible, the report compared progress with previous years and it was noted that where previous data was unavailable, the data would form a baseline against which to measure future progress. This year the report also included data for groups with protected characteristics as set out in the Council’s equality objectives and the Council’s Marmot (health inequalities) agenda.

The Council Plan performance report was currently measured using 67 indicators. At half year progress was made or maintained in 31 indicators; 13 indicators had got worse; officers couldn’t say for 7 indicators; and progress was not available for the remaining 16 indicators either because they were updated less frequently or because data wasn’t available. The Committee noted that the progress had been made in the context of continued and sustained reduction in the overall resources available to the Council, £107m less core government grant in 2017/18 than the equivalent figure for 2010/11.

The Committee noted that the performance report also set out how the Council was addressing inequalities. Detailed progress was discussed at relevant Cabinet Member meetings.

The Council’s performance management framework, which set out how the Council planned and organised its resources to achieve its vision and priorities, was set out at a second appendix. Responding to the Council’s digital strategy, officers had introduced new methods to improve transparency and good governance with online digital performance dashboards and publishing more datasets on-line as open data. 

The Committee were pleased to note that the additional indicators, trend data and information requested for inclusion in future reports at their meeting on 12^th July, 2017 had now been included in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report of the Lord Mayor, Councillor Tony Skipper

The Committee considered a report of the Lord Mayor, Councillor Tony Skipper concerning his civic visit to Belgrade, Serbia from 1^st to 6^th October, 2017 which involved leading a delegation from the Belgrade Theatre to meet representatives of the Children’s Cultural Centre Belgrade and organisers of the annual Joy of Europe Festival with a view to young people from Coventry participating in future years. The Committee noted that Coventry had been twinned with Belgrade since 1957 so 2017 marked the 60^th anniversary of the twinning arrangement.

RESOLVED that the report of the Lord Mayor’s civic visit to Belgrade, accompanied by three representatives from the Belgrade Theatre and the principal private secretary to the Lord Mayoralty, and the positive way the relationship with Coventry was reflected, be endorsed.  

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Committee noted their work programme for the current municipal year. Attention was drawn to a suggested topic for Scrutiny that had been submitted by a member of the public as follows ‘I would like the process of adults being assessed and diagnosed for autism to be clearer and more promoted. It is quite clear for children but a minefield for adults’. The Committee were informed that the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) would be considering Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) at their next meeting on 31^st January, 2018 and the issue could be raised under this item.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The work programme be noted.

(2) The suggestion relating to the process for adults being assessed and diagnosed with autism to be raised at the meeting of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) on 31^st January when the Board consider Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.      

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no additional items of public business.