Form climate change impact assessment

Climate change impact assessment

The purpose of this assessment is to help us understand the likely impacts of our decisions on the environment of North Yorkshire and on our aspiration to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2030, or as close to that date as possible. The intention is to mitigate negative effects and identify projects which will have positive effects.

This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. The final document will be published as part of the decision making process and should be written in Plain English.

If you have any additional queries which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Version 2: amended 11 August 2021

Title of proposal	North Yorkshire Taxi Licencing Policy 2023
Brief description of proposal	The Council is required to adopt a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy. This will set the minimum standards expected by applicants and the existing trade. Before the policy is adopted there will be a 12-week public consultation involving all key stakeholders, such as the taxi trade and partner agencies. After this Councillors will determine a final draft of the taxi policy before recommending that the policy is adopted by the Council. The adopted policy governs how the Council will process applications for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licences. However, if anybody is aggrieved by any decision made due to the policy standards, they will have a right of appeal initially to the Council and then the Magistrates. The aim of the policy is to balance the needs of the trade with the needs of the public. The Policy has 4 objectives: · To encourage the provision of high quality and accessible Hackney Carriage and Private Hire services · To ensure the safety and comfort of users of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire services · To ensure the safety and the wellbeing of the public affected by the operation of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire services; and · To facilitate access to an efficient and effective form of public transport Ensuring that North Yorkshire has a modern, sustainable taxi fleet that will meet the needs of the citizens and visitors.
Directorate
Service area
Lead officer	Sharon Cousins
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Sharon Cousins Licensing Manager Selby Lead Officer Local Government Organisation
Date impact assessment started	4 August 2022

Options[DH1] appraisal

Were any other options considered in trying to achieve the aim of this project? If so, please give brief details and explain why alternative options were not progressed.

The policy will be the first Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Taxi licensing Policy for North Yorkshire. The policy is a priority to have in place by 2023 due to the potential risks involved if the policy was not to be in place. The proposed policy needs to amalgamate 7 different polices into one- and the -time frame for the work to be completed is tight.

We have considered all of the 7 districts’ current policies and incorporated best practice guidance and statutory standards. Environmental issues have been incorporated following the previous districts’ individual policies.

As each district had its own maximum and minimum age policies for the vehicles it would licence, a balance had to be struck to ensure that the new Council had a stance on this but also to consider the impact on the trade into this transition and of the trade coming out of the COVID pandemic.

What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?

Please explain briefly why this will be the result, detailing estimated savings or costs where this is possible.

The Council budget should not be affected by this policy. The Licensing Authority is a self-funding service, with fees being reasonable with a view to recovering the costs of issue and administration of the licence.

How will this proposal impact on the environment? N.B. There may be short term negative impact and longer term positive impact. Please include all potential impacts over the lifetime of a project and provide an explanation.		Positive impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	No impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Negative impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Explain why will it have this effect and over what timescale? Where possible/relevant please include: · Changes over and above business as usual · Evidence or measurement of effect · Figures for CO₂e · Links to relevant documents	Explain how you plan to mitigate any negative impacts.	Explain how you plan to improve any positive outcomes as far as possible.
Minimise greenhouse gas emissions e.g. reducing emissions from travel, increasing energy efficiencies etc.	Emissions from travel			X	Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles will not change over night when the policy comes into effect. Approximately the same number of vehicles will be on the road on the vesting date of the new authority as today. There are Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA’s) in both Selby and Harrogate. These areas are mentioned within the policy with the high recommendation of not idling in these areas. The volume of licensed traffic using these however will stay the same.	The new Council policy considers environmental factors and promotes not idling. The message within this statement is clear that the Council is considering the impact of licensed vehicles and looking at ways to mitigate this now and moving forward. All the above will help the air quality in the whole of the districts and in the AQMA areas.	The Environmental considerations section of the policy states that the Council will investigate any available funding for purchasing low emission and electric vehicles on to the fleet. This relies on the funding becoming available for the authority to be able to bid for it. The policy is clear on its maximum and minimum age requirements for licensing vehicles. This is to ensure more efficient vehicles are on the roads.
	Emissions from construction		X
	Emissions from running of buildings		X
	Emissions from data storage		X
	Other
Minimise waste: Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost e.g. reducing use of single use plastic			X
Reduce water consumption			X
Minimise pollution (including air, land, water, light and noise)				X	Air pollution – see comments above under greenhouse emissions
Ensure resilience to the effects of climate change e.g. reducing flood risk, mitigating effects of drier, hotter summers			X		Moving forward the policy covers bidding for potential funding to be made available to drivers to purchase lower emission vehicles, that will have less of an impact on the environment.	The Policy recommends that vehicles do not idle and the minimum and maximum age requirements within the policy now are moving towards more fuel efficient and less carbon intensive vehicles.
Enhance conservation and wildlife			X
Safeguard the distinctive characteristics, features and special qualities of North Yorkshire’s landscape			X
Other (please state below)

Are there any recognised good practice environmental standards in relation to this proposal? If so, please detail how this proposal meets those standards.

The policy covers environmental matters. It states that the Council will consider funding for lower emission and electric vehicles moving forward.

The Department of Transports (DfT’s) Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards 2020 is silent on this area.

Summary Summarise the findings of your impact assessment, including impacts, the recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.

The impact of the new Policy will not increase carbon emissions on the roads. The vehicles licensed by the 7 individual districts today will to some degree, still be licensed when the one Council policy takes effect.

The Council is aware of the impact of climate change and the policy seeks to promote the use of lower emission and electric vehicles moving forward, seeking out funding where available to pass on to the drivers.

The Policy has a maximum and minimum age vehicle policy in place. As this is a new Council, consideration had to be given to ensure that the trade was not too adversely impacted on day one. The aim, in time, will be to have a more stringent age policy to ensure a younger, more fuel efficient and lower emission fleet. All of which will help the Council in its move to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Sign off section

This climate change impact assessment was completed by:

Name	Sharon Cousins
Job title	Licensing Manager, Selby District Council
Service area	Regulatory Services
Directorate	Health and Culture
Signature
Completion date	11 August 2022

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):

Date: