Taxi Driver Online

thank you will be going to view in near future

I haven't got a clue what half of that is or means but I have just really enjoyed reading it and sending in the request

thank you for making me smile on a friday night when I AM extremely narked at the council over a different matter

[edited by admin] too late sent it in before reading your comment

but to be fair I ve asked for 6 already this month an losing track of replies

if only i could get enough drivers to stand up to the council

they all moan but no one wants to act or support those that do

Join the NTA.

If you send in one at a time you will not be giving them the escuse of sending it back, and not answering all the Questions just for one..

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I should have stated that it would be better breaking it down, but I was in a rush, my reason for this is because there's a limit on FOI requests, which I think is between £450 and £600, but I have sent it to quite a few councils and they have provided the information, one though did want to charge me,so I broke it down and sent them back in, there's no limit to the amount of requests you can make I do loads of them.

I'll wait and see what comes back.
if they don't answer then I ll send them as individual requests

I am pretty sure I have their attention

got audited accounts back. Have to say this is a vast improvement on what they sent me last time I asked
Sadly I think this might scupper me a bit but time will tell

Thank you for the reply, under the freedom of information can you supply the breakdown for these direct costs, i.e. Time for activity in producing the licence, a full breakdown of time spent in the process of the application and and hourly rate for staff costs.

fair play to council they've answered as one FOI but now refuse to answer any further requests from me on the subject. Below is there response

FOI 4060 Dual badge and Hackney carriage fees



Question 1

Can the council please explain the reasons for the additional premium charged for a dual badge? The dual badge still constitutes one badge and requires a single application process. For instance, if I have a private hire badge renewal it costs £78 annually and if I have a Hackney badge renewal it costs £78 annually. However, if I opt for a dual badge it costs annual renewal of £117. Please could you explain the reason behind the additional premium?



Our response:

The fee includes £78 for the hackney licensing regime and £39 for the PHV regime. We are not permitted to use hackney fees for PHV and vice versa, including enforcement costs.

FOI 4102 Taxi fees, costs, staffing and management structures



Question 1

Please provide a copy of any report submitted by Licensing officers to the Head of Function or any Council body to request authority to implement the most recently revised scale of fees.



Our response:

The matter was approved by Council decision (see General Fund Revenue and Capital Budget);

Policy and Resources Committee - http://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieLi ... 0744&Ver=4
Council 21 February - http://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieLi ... 0739&Ver=4
The revised scale of fees was approved by Council in April 2017. This is the relevant authority to action.

Question 2

Please provide a copy of the financial estimates for the operation of the Taxi Licensing function.



Our response:

We have already responded to this request – FOI 3874 refers (attached to the back of this response).



Question 3

Please provide details of the number of vehicle licenses, driver licenses and operator licenses the Council envisages issuing in the current year.



Our response:

The Council are unable to predict with any accuracy how many applications we will get in any one year. Last year we issued 188 hackney and PHV licences, 124 driver licences and 21 operators’ licences.



Question 4

Please provide a copy of the job description of each member of staff wholly or partly employed in the carrying out of the vehicle, driver and operator licensing function. For staff not wholly employed on such activity please advise the percentage of time charged to the taxi and non-taxi activity in their job descriptions.



Our response:

This information is exempt under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act as the requested information relates to personal information, the release of which would lead to the identification of an individual.



Question 5

Please advise details of the staff and management structure in respect of taxi licensing.



Our response:

There is no organisation chart purely for this function due to the cross cutting nature of the teams involved.



Question 6

Please advise details of staff costs charged directly to the licensing account.

* Please note, I only request details of the posts and the aggregated total annual forecast cost including all Employer’s on-costs.



Our response:

Below is a breakdown of the 2015/16 costs.



Summary of charges

Staffing

Salaries

2,000

Supplies & Services

Equip & Furniture

5,068

Supplies & Services

Stationery

22

Supplies & Services

Internal Print

1,014

Supplies & Services

Envelopes

10

Supplies & Services

External Legal Expenses

575

Supplies & Services

Professional Advice

20,890

Supplies & Services

Postages

221

Internal Recharges

Finance

13,407

Internal Recharges

Legal

2,677

Internal Recharges

Text Production

103

Internal Recharges

Post Room

40

Internal Recharges

Assistant Director

13,685

Internal Recharges

Business Support and Enforcement

111,960

Internal Recharges

Accommodation

3,385

Internal Recharges

ICT

1,374

Internal Recharges

Licensing Officer

16,582

Internal Recharges

Governance

7,475

Internal Recharges

Corporate Management

5,000

Internal Recharges

HR

205

Income

Fees & Charges

(223)

Income

Hire Licenses

(198,437)

Total

5,032



Question 7

Please provide a copy of the Subjective Cost Centre(s) Budget(s) for taxi licensing activity showing the estimated costs and income for 2015/16 against each relevant nominal ledger code. Please also supply a copy of the year to date outturn to the last available accounting period and any forecast outturn for the current financial year.



Our response:

We have provided this in response to FOI 3874. There is no additional information available.



Question 8

Please provide details of how recovery of corporate overhead and any other indirect or apportioned charges are calculated for the Taxi Licensing Subjective cost centre(s).



Our response:

Managers and staff who support more than one function attribute a percentage of their time to the functions of the council. The breakdown you have been provided with is an accumulation of those costs.



Question 9

Please advise, under the Council’s Constitution and scheme of delegation, which Cabinet member(s) and Officers have responsibility for the determination of the Council’s policies and practice in respect of any matters relating to its powers under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.



Our response:

Licensing Committee
Assistant Director Direct Services, Strategy and Democracy, with certain functions delegated to the Head of Safer Neighbourhoods.


FOI 4107 Breakdown of direct costs associated with taxi and PHV



Question 1

Please supply a breakdown of the direct costs associated with the taxi and PHV licensing department, i.e. the time for activity in producing the license, a full breakdown of time spent in the process of the application and hourly rate for staff costs.



Our response:

We have already provided information in response to FOI 3884. No further information is available.



FOI 4109 Taxi re-licensing



Question 1

The council will not accept applications for renewal after the expiry date, but the application will be treated as a fresh application and a proportionate application fee is due.



Could you please supply a list of vehicles relicensed that;

(a) have expired

(b) the vehicle was too old to be licensed



Our response:

We do not have a list to provide as this is an issue which rarely occurs. The trade self-police on this matter and we cannot issue renewals retrospectively.



FOI 4144 Taxi fees



Question 1

Can you please send me the latest breakdown of fees for sections of the taxi and private hire licensing dept. that you hold and the time spent on every aspect charged?



Our response:

We have already provided information in response to request 3884. No further information is available.



FOI 4146 Taxi operators license processing costs



Question 1

Could you please supply me with a breakdown of the time taken and associated cost of supply an operator with his private hire operator’s license?



Our response:

We have already provided information in response to request 3884. No further information is available.



FOI 4145 Taxi policy pre-2011

Question 1
Could you please send me a copy of the taxi policy in force before the revision of 2011 was introduced?

As stated above, response to follow.



PREVIOUS RESPONSES



FOI 3874 Taxi and private hire licensing audited accounts



Summary:
Request for a copy of the audited accounts for the taxi and private hire licensing departments from the last five years



Question 1

Please can I get a copy of the last 5 years full audited accounts for the taxi and private hire licensing department, no other departments just the taxi and private hire department?



Our response:

Please see below for a breakdown of the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing department accounts since 2011/12. Please note, that the figures provided in respect of the year 2016/17 are as yet unaudited. However, the preceding years are.





2016/17

2015/16

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

2011/12

Staffing

2,392

2,000

1,621

1,621

1,621

1,621

Supplies & Services

16,360

27,800

19,067

22,567

22,778

13,973

Internal Recharges

213,614

175,891

140,224

150,642

156,469

138,541

Income

(235,702)

(198,660)

(182,784)

(168,061)

(157,017)

(144,650)

Net position

(3,335)

7,032

(21,871)

6,769

23,851

9,485



FOI 3884 Processing times for public hire driver and vehicle applications

Summary:

Request for a breakdown of time taken to process for taxi licensing applications for both drivers and vehicles



Question 1

Can you supply me with a breakdown of the time taken to process the applications for both drivers and vehicles?



Our response:



New Driver Applications

Time (mins)

Initial contact, e.g. phone call/email

30

Subsequent telephone/letters

30

Application processing

120

Making badge

10

Producing paper licence and associated admin/finance checks

120

Mailings

5

Reception enq/badge issuing

15





Renewal of Existing Driver Applications / New Vehicles etc

Time (mins)

Initial contact, e.g. phone call/email

30

Subsequent telephone/letters

30

Application processing

60

Hackney test (where applicable)

60

Making badge

10

Producing paper licence and associated admin/finance checks

120

Mailings

5

Reception enq/badge issuing

15