Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982: Taxi Fare Scale Review
Argyll and Bute Council · 20 September 2023
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 20 September 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 20th September 2023 CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 TAXI FARE SCALE REVIEW 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 In terms of Section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the Local Authority requires to fix maximum fares and other charges in connection with the hire of taxis operating in their area and to review the scales for taxi fares and other charges on a regular basis. Members are advised that the review has now been concluded and the fares fixed with effect from 22 October 2023. 2.0 RECOMMENDATION 2.1 The Committee is asked to note the above and that a further review of the taxi fares will take place within 18 months of 22nd October 2023 as required in terms of section 17 of the Act.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 20th September 2023 CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 TAXI FARE SCALE REVIEW 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 In terms of Section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the Local Authority requires to fix maximum fares and other charges in connection with the hire of taxis operating in their area and to review the scales for taxi fares and other charges on a regular basis. Members are advised that the review has now been concluded and the fares fixed with effect from 22nd October 2023. 2.0 RECOMMENDATION 2.1 The Committee is asked to note the above and that a further review of the taxi fares will take place within 18 months of 22nd October 2023 as required in terms of section 17 of the Act. 3.0 DETAIL 3.1 In terms of Section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the Local Authority requires to fix maximum fares and other charges in connection with the hire of taxis operating in their area and to review the scales for taxi fares and other charges on a regular basis. Members agreed to commence with the review process on 19th April 2023. At their meeting on 21st June 2023 the Committee agreed: 1. To propose that there be no change to the existing scales and that this take effect from 22nd October 2023; 2. To authorise the Head of Legal and Regulatory Support to advertise this proposal and to invite any responses within one month of the advertisement and report back to Members at their meeting on 20th September 2023; and 3. Should no objections or representations be received in relation to the proposal, to delegate to the Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, in consultation with the Chair of the PPSL Committee to conclude the review without the requirement for the Committee to consider a further report on the review. 3.2 Following the Committee’s decision on 21st June 2023 adverts were placed in local newspapers week commencing 3rd July 2023 proposing that there be no changes to the existing fares. In terms of this any representations had to be made by 7th August 2023.
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3.3 As no representations were received by that date the Head of Legal and Regulatory Support in consultation with the Chair of PPSL agreed that no changes to the fares take place. 3.4 All operators were notified by letter on 9th August 2023 of the decision and were provided with a new tariff card. They were advised they had 14 days to appeal against the scales to the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland. 3.5 The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland were contacted and confirmed on 24th August 2023 that no appeal had been received. 3.6 Adverts were placed week commencing 28th August 2023 in the local press confirming that no change to the existing scales and that this takes effect on 22nd October 2023 as required in terms of section 18A of the Act. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 The review of the taxi fares has now been completed. The next review will require to be concluded within 18 months of 22nd October 2023 in terms of section 18 of the Act. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Policy- None 5.2 Financial -none 5.3 Legal – The Council require to review taxi fares in terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 5.4 HR -none 5.5 Fairer Scotland Duty:-none 5.5.1 Equalities - protected characteristics-none 5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty-none 5.5.3 Islands -none 5.6 Climate Change-none 5.7 Risk-none 5.8 Customer Service-none Douglas Hendry Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support Policy Lead: Cllr Kieron Green For further information contact: Sheila MacFadyen, Senior Solicitor Tel: 01546 604265 Email Sheila.macfadyen@argyll-bute.gov.uk