Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Elizabeth Jackson, Principal Democratic Services Officer, and supplied the text by midday on Thursday 12 December 2024, three working days before the day of the meeting. Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item. Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:
· at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);
· when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.
If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Leader who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.
Minutes:
There were four public statements submitted in relation to Minute 579 – Adoption of an Inclusive Service Plan focussed on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing and Minute 580 – Adoption of a Revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, as follows:
1. Statement from Richard Fieldman, Harrogate
Dear Councillors
I am here today to bring you the feelings of the taxi trade, or more precisely, the nearly one hundred drivers that I represent, on your agenda item, that is, suitable vehicles to be licenced as hackney carriages.
One bad policy decision that has already been made, has seen a depletion in your WAV fleet, a decision that I warned both councillors Les, and Bastiman what the result would be if it was adopted, and was told “no that won’t happen, and if it does, you can come back round this table and say, I told you so” well here I am.
Now before you vote in favour of the proposal before you today, please don’t make the same mistake again! The vehicles that you are being asked to approve will see the same result in your taxi fleet, a depletion of drivers who are not willing to invest in a Wav vehicle, Electric vehicle, or a hybrid, and many have already expressed that if this policy is adopted, they will simply leave the trade, and seek employment elsewhere, due to the constant restrictions you are putting in place.
We feel we are being made the scapegoat for your previous bad decision, and being beaten with a big stick into being forced into purchasing a WAV vehicle, as a lesser of evils, this will not happen, and the result will be, an under provision of your normal taxi fleet.
Today I ask that you take York Councils lead, that despite their documented controversial new taxi policy, they have listened to their drivers, and have included Euro 6 emission vehicles as suitable for licensing, after all, if the government deem them fit to enter clean air zones, then why should they not be suitable to be licensed as taxis?
The trade have faced, and are facing, great expense and difficulty maintaining a profitable and viable business in these present times. We are being swamped and overtaken by a massive influx of Uber cars in North Yorkshire, and they have a distinct advantage over us regarding licensing conditions, and we must be allowed to be able to have an equal choice of vehicle as them, and York, to be able to keep our quota of taxis in North Yorkshire.
And so I request that today, a counter proposal is put forward, that in addition to the proposed suitable vehicles to be licensed as hackney carriages, Euro 6 emission vehicles are also included.
I thank you for your time, and listening to my statement.
2. Statement from Jackie Snape, Chief Executive of Disability Action Yorkshire
This morning, imagine that your car wouldn’t start before heading to this meeting. How would you have managed to get here? Most likely, you’d have called a taxi, confident that one would be available when you needed it, ensuring you’d arrive on time or perhaps only slightly late.
Now, imagine that when you called for a taxi, you were told none were available for you—despite plenty being available for others. Every taxi company gave you the same response. You’d likely feel frustrated, upset, and stranded.
Now take it further—imagine the taxi was essential for a medical appointment, a job interview, or visiting a critically ill relative in hospital. For wheelchair users who rely on Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs), this isn’t an isolated incident—it’s an ongoing reality. It happens not only when trying to book a taxi on short notice but also when booking well in advance.
The impact is profound. Difficulty accessing WAV taxis leads to missed medical and dental appointments, delayed diagnoses, unmanaged health conditions, and increased risks of acute health crises. This ripple effect places additional strain on already overstretched acute health and social care services.
A recent example highlights this stark reality. A disabled North Yorkshire resident, who had been asked by her GP to attend for an urgent appointment, was unable to secure a WAV taxi. In her distress, she dialled 999. The ambulance that responded was the only emergency unit available at the time and had to travel significant distances under blue lights to reach her, only to find that it wasn’t an emergency.
The challenges extend beyond healthcare. Disabled people eager to work often face barriers getting to their workplaces, while visitors to North Yorkshire who require WAV taxis leave frustrated by unmet needs. This affects both the local and wider economy, undermining inclusion and accessibility.
I urge North Yorkshire to rethink its approach to WAV taxi accessibility. Upholding the fundamental rights of disabled people to move freely within their communities is crucial, and as the largest county in the country, we should be leading the way, not falling behind. A well-balanced strategy would benefit both disabled residents and the taxi trade, creating a community where accessible transportation is a shared responsibility and priority rather than an afterthought.
3. Statement from Ian Lawson, Chair of the North Yorkshire Disability Forum’s Accessible Transport Group
Today, I am here to appeal to your sense of social justice—a value I believe we all share. For years, the chronic shortage of wheelchair-accessible taxis has been a pressing issue across North Yorkshire. Despite being a known problem for decades, the seven Borough and District Councils failed to address it effectively. In recent years some of those councils incorporated policies requiring all new taxis to be wheelchair accessible. However, these well-intentioned efforts appear to have been abandoned with the introduction of the current Licensing Policy last April.
Since then, significant changes, including deregulation, have resulted in 120 additional taxis being licensed. Shockingly, not one of them is wheelchair-accessible. Another ill-advised change was the creation of a single licensing zone under the unevidenced assumption that wheelchair taxis would spontaneously appear on the ranks from other areas. They did not.
The consequences of this failure are dire. From personal experience and countless conversations with other wheelchair users, I know the devastating impact of this accessibility barrier. Medical and dental appointments are missed as are work commitments, and lives are stifled by social isolation—all because, as Jackie has explained, we cannot access a basic mode of transport.
Recognising the council's legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), I personally invested £9,000 last year to obtain then submit legal arguments showing how the proposed Licensing Policy would fail wheelchair users. Regrettably, those warnings went unheeded. Today, we face an even bleaker reality as there are now nine fewer wheelchair-accessible taxis than at the start of the current policy. This autumn, I have spent an additional £8,000 on my legal submissions, which once again argue that the council's current proposals will fail to meet your PSED obligations because, I believe, they will not result in the required increase in wheelchair taxis.
The council’s own Inclusive Service Plan (ISP) acknowledges the need for 200 more wheelchair-accessible taxis. Yet, the plan provides no evidence that the proposed changes will move North Yorkshire towards this goal, even by the end of the decade.
Last year, in compliance with Dept of Transport’s Best Practice Licensing Guidance, the council offered financial incentives to encourage the purchase of wheelchair taxis. Instead, every one of the 120 new drivers opted for standard saloon cars, as did all existing drivers replacing their vehicles. The result is fewer wheelchair-accessible taxis now than before. The council’s proposals now offer drivers a choice of a wheelchair taxi, an electric saloon taxi, a hybrid saloon taxi and a diesel or petrol Private Hire Vehicle. Where is the evidence that wheelchair taxis will be chosen?
Why are identical restrictions not imposed on equally polluting PHVs and why does the Inclusive Service Plan not explain the reasons why? By removing the 10-year age limit for taxis, many drivers—including the 120 new ones—are likely to keep their current vehicles well into the next decade. Where does this leave wheelchair users? Trapped at home, cut off from essential health related services, work commitments and a social life in their community.
The council has already complied with current licensing Best Practice Licensing Guidance by avoiding mandates and by offering incentives. Incentives were offered last year in the new Policy but the taxi trade ignored them so now I urge you to fulfil your legal obligations to wheelchair users (as in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) by mandating in some way, the introduction of more wheelchair-accessible taxis. Anything less will perpetuate the isolation and inequality faced by wheelchair users across North Yorkshire.
4. Statement from Graham Watson on behalf of Area G drivers (read out by Richard Fieldman)
Due to a busy Christmas schedule, I need this to be read out on behalf of Area G drivers with regard to EV and Hybrid vehicles, as I cannot afford to be present myself.
As you can see from my email below, there is a picture of my 4 year old taxi van, licensed by yourselves in area G, a fully fledged WAV. In December 2020, I paid £33019 for this vehicle, I have just re-insured it with a current forecourt value of £13009. In the 4 years I have owned it, I have clocked up 260000 (two hundred and sixty thousand miles) . I am on my 2nd engine and would hope to get a further 200000 miles out of her.
When the original engine gave up the ghost, I spoke to Cab Direct, The Taxi Shop and the Taxi Centre with regard to replacing the full vehicle rather than going down the repair route.
The cheapest like for like vehicle I could get (Brand new, because it's pointless me buying a used unit) was £59995 OTR. Almost double what I paid 4 years ago with a standard diesel Euro 6 engine and Auto gearbox.
The PHEV hybrid is a 2.5 litre petrol engine and does just 35 miles on a full hybrid charge - useless for the miles that I do. The fully electric Tourneo is currently £79000 and has a ultimate range of 350 miles in perfect summer conditions without A/C.
I fully accept that there are 2nd hand versions available but why would anyone buy something like mine even at 4 years old with my mileage on it, even the 3 taxi companies said to me 'we wouldn't offer you a trade in sir' every single dealer.
So what happens from here, from my point of view at 56 years old currently, I have to either keep mine on the road - which is the best all round option OR
I REMORTGAGE my house to buy a new one (never going to happen - I've only just paid my mortgage off)
I sell up, go back to full time employment and leave yet another gap in the area G taxi market.
A 4th option would be to swap from HCV to PHV and spend 50k on non WAV, this again leaves another gap on the taxi market.
In the 4 years I have had my WAV, I have only carried 6 wheelchairs, I advertise that I am wheelchair friendly, I advertise on local radio, I advertise in local magazines and amateur dramatic programmes. Yet in 1412 days (give or take) I have done 6 wheelchair jobs.
My corporate companies, Drax Power, Croda International, Sedamyl, Olivero, Bowker and Guardian WILL NOT ALLOW THEIR STAFF AND VISITORS TO TRAVEL IN A WAV, this is in the contracts that I have with them. Even Network Rail are now asking for non WAV's for their executive teams.
So that's it from me, I truly believe that by forcing HCV drivers to purchase WAV's that you will kill the trade and open up all our towns to UBER, which is the biggest APP based PH company in the world, and I am pretty sure that NYC won't be able to enforce UBER Technologies Incorporated to purchase WAV's to supply what little demand there is.
Response of the Executive Member for Managing our Environment, Councillor Greg White
The Council understands the impact that policy changes potentially have on the hackney carriage and private hire trade. It also understands the impact that a lack of wheelchair accessible vehicles has on the lives of wheelchair users and remains committed to addressing this.
There were 67 wheelchair accessible hackney carriages and 29 wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles (96 in total) on 31 March 2023. At present, there are now 66 wheelchair accessible hackney carriages and 43 wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles (109 in total). There has not been a depletion in the WAV fleet but, as has been the case throughout North Yorkshire historically, there remains a shortage of WAVs. The primary objective of the proposed review is to address that shortage by limiting the scope of suitable vehicles.
The Council has taken a progressive approach to addressing the shortage in WAVs. At the last policy review, a number of changes were made to encourage the provision WAVs, including:
· Removal of the age limit for WAVs;
· Removal of licence fees for WAVs.
It is clear that encouragement has not increased the number of WAVs sufficiently to meet the demand from wheelchair users, hence the need to review policy again in this respect through a detailed consultation process. The Executive will discuss the detail of the consultation on 17 December. No final decisions will be made at Executive and the Council will keep an open mind until the results of the consultation have been considered.
The Council has identified through research that the number of WAV vehicles available is not meeting current demand from wheelchair users.
Mr Lawson asks why there are no similar mandates for the private hire fleet in the current proposals. Many of the additional measures proposed in the Inclusive Service Plan apply to hackney carriage vehicles and private hire vehicles equally, and the draft policy includes new obligations on private hire operators to enquire about accessibility needs at the time of booking. Private hire vehicles often operate in very specific ways, different to hackney carriage vehicles. They often serve very specific requirements e.g. home to school contracts or executive hire to business, so require a specific type of vehicle. Private hire vehicles must also be pre-booked, allowing the customer to discuss the style of vehicle required in advance. This is not possible when taking a hackney carriage vehicle from the rank. The current proposals move private hire vehicles to Euro 6 standard thereby also improving emission standards.
The Council is under a duty to ensure that wheelchair users have a sufficient supply of WAVs to meet their needs. In order to achieve balance and fairness for the trade and customers, the Council is seeking to find a solution that avoids requiring that all vehicles be WAVs at this stage.
It is important that people let us have their views and alternative proposals through the consultation period in order that the Council can take full account of them.