Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Rachel Hood and Robert Nobbs.

Any Member who is substituting for another Member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant absent Member.

The following substitution was declared:

Councillor Brian Harvey substituting for Councillor Robert Nobbs.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 1 July 2019 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 July 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members of the public who live or work in the District are welcome to speak and may ask one question or make a statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.

There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s discretion.

There were no questions/statements from members of the public.

Ian Millership, from CTS Traffic and Transportation Ltd, will be in attendance to deliver a presentation on this item to the meeting. Supporting documentation is attached.

Ian Millership, from CTS Traffic and Transportation Ltd, was in attendance for this item in order to deliver a presentation to the Committee on the Hackney Carriage Demand Survey which had been undertaken by CTS on behalf of West Suffolk Council.

The presentation set out the aim of the survey and outlined the results of both the Trade and public consultations.

CTS also provided an evaluation on unmet demand across the District and set out their conclusions gleaned from the process.

The presentation concluded with key comments which included the recommendation that, if West Suffolk were minded to, the combination of zones be undertaken over a moderate time period such as three years.

Members of the Committee posed questions following the presentation which were responded to. 

Specific discussion took place with regard to disability accessible vehicles, electric vehicles and the impact of Newmarket race days and USAF Air Bases on taxi availability at certain times. 

On conclusion, the Chair thanked CTS for their attendance and valued input. 

Verbal update

The Service Manager (Environmental Health) thanked those Members who attended the Committee workshop session in October 2019; the outcome of which had been fed into the West Suffolk Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy Handbook review.

The Committee was advised that consultation on the revised handbook had been launched earlier that day, and would run until 9 March 2020, which sought views and feedback on the changes proposed.

Members were invited to respond to the online survey and also to encourage all interested third parties to do so.