Public Agenda Document Pack - General Purposes Committee - 29_09_2026
Midlothian Council · 29 September 2026
Back to General Purposes Committee — 29 September 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Notice of Meeting and Agenda General Purposes Committee Venue: Normandy Court/ Hybrid, Normandy Court, Normandy Drive, Dalkeith, EH22 1GJ Date: Tuesday, 29 September 2026 Time: 10:00 Executive Director : Place Contact: Clerk Name: Democratic Services Clerk Telephone: Clerk Email: democratic.services@midlothian.gov.uk Further Information: This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. Privacy notice: Please note that this meeting may be recorded. The recording may be publicly available following the meeting. If you would like to know how Midlothian Council collects, uses and shares your personal information, please visit our website: www.midlothian.gov.uk Page 1 of 18
Page 2
1 Welcome, Introductions and Apologies 2 Order of Business 3 Declaration of Interest 4 Minute of Previous Meeting 4.1 5 - 8 4.2 9 - 10 5 Minutes of the General Purposes Committee Meeting of 9 June 2026, submitted for approval Action Log Public Reports 5.1 11 - 18 6 Taxis and Private Hire Cars, Review of Tariffs – Seeking authority to hold a public consultation on proposed taxi tariffs, presented by Executive Director – Children, Young People and Partnerships Exclusion of Members of the Public - TO CONSIDER RESOLVING TO DEAL WITH THE UNDERNOTED BUSINESS IN PRIVATE IN TERMS OFPARAGRAPH 6 OF PART 1 OF SCHEDULE 7A TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1973 - THE RELEVANT REPORTS ARE THEREFORE NOT FOR PUBLICATION; AND (B) TO NOTE THAT NOTWITHSTANDING ANY SUCH RESOLUTION, INFORMATION MAY STILL REQUIRE TO BE RELEASED UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002 OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004. Private Reports 6.1 Short Term Let Licensing – Determination of a licence application Reference No. ML00207 1 Glenview Rd, Gorebridge EH23 4BN, presented by Executive Director, Children, Young People and Partnerships 6.2 Grant of Private Hire Care Licence - Case 1 6.3 Grant of Private Hire Care Licence - Case 2 Page 2 of 18 Including notice of new business submitted as urgent for consideration at the end of the meeting. Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in the items of business for consideration, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of their interest.
Page 3
7 Date of Next Meeting Page 3 of 18 The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 17 November 2026 at 10.00am.
Page 4
Page 4 of 18
Page 5
INTERNAL USE ONLY DRAFT BY/DATE: REVIEW BY/DATE: 1-993 General Purposes Committee Tuesday 29 September 2026 Item No 4.1 Minute of Meeting General Purposes Committee Date Time Venue Tuesday 9 June 2026 10:00 MS Teams Present: Councillor Virgo (Chair) Councillor Alexander Councillor Bowen Councillor Cassidy Councillor Curran Councillor Drummond Councillor McEwan Councillor Imrie Councillor McKenzie Councillor McCall Councillor McManus Councillor Milligan Councillor Parry Councillor Pottinger Councillor Russell Councillor Scott Councillor Winchester Councillor Smaill In attendance: Derek Oliver, Acting Executive Director, Children, Young People and Partnerships Alan Turpie, Legal and Governance Manager/Monitoring Officer Edel Ryan, Senior Manager Protective Services Gerri Stanley, Trainee Solicitor Louise Middleton, Democratic Services Officer 1. Welcome and Apologies The Chair welcomed everyone to this meeting of the General Purposes (GP) Committee. 2. Order of Business The Order of Business was as per the agenda. Page 5 of 18
Page 6
3. Declaration of Interest The Chair invited the General Purposes Committee to declare their interest in items of the agenda and added that declarations of interest and transparency statements can also be presented when any relevant items are discussed. 4. Minute of Previous Meeting The minute of the General Purposes Committee Meeting of 3 March 2026 was approved as the correct record and moved by Councillor Parry and seconded by Councillor McCall. The GP Committee reviewed the public and private action log. The Action Log was moved by Councillor Parry and seconded by Councillor McCall. 5. Reports and Items for Discussion Report No. Report Title Presented by: 5.1 Civic Government (Scotland)Act 1982: Public Entertainment Licensing – Revision of Licence Conditions Senior Manager, Protective Services The Senior Manager Protective Services had circulated a report for decision. The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the proposed Midlothian Council Public Entertainment Licensing conditions as they relate to a) premises b) events and c) nail bars. The General Purposes Committee approved the current public entertainment Licencing Resolution in 2025, which included a number of new categories of premises. The revision of the resolution also triggered a review of the conditions to be attached to such licences. All public entertainment licence applications to be granted will have either the premises or the events licence conditions as appropriate, plus any relevant sector specific conditions. For nail bars, it would be premises licence conditions plus the nail bar licence conditions attached to the final licence. Licencing applications, where compliance is demonstrated by the applicant, will be determined as usual under delegated authority and otherwise will be brought before committee for consideration. Committee is recommended to: i)approve the revised conditions proposed for Public Entertainment Licences as they relate to: a) Premises Page 6 of 18
Page 7
b) Events c) Nail Bars ii)note that further report will be brought before Committee with regards to revision of other specific sectors requiring a Public Entertainment Licence under the Midlothian Council Public Entertainment Resolution. Elected Members noted there was no reference to a situation in Penicuik about 18 months ago where someone was operating under a family entertainment licence and asked for clarity on what that is and if it actually exists. The Senior Manager, Protective Services clarified that the paper today is very limited in its extent. It's for the general conditions associated with premises as opposed to the specific. The Legal and Governance Manager/Monitoring Officer added that the unlicenced Family Entertainment Centre, which was in Penicuik, falls under the Gambling Act, and therefore is a separate piece of legislation and a separate method of legislating and governance for these premises. Elected Members queried if small charitable groups looking for an entertainment licence are going to be able to raise £5 million of insurance cover. The Senior Manager Protective Services noted that the resolution excludes certain exemptions, including some of the small charitable events, and that the £5million is an accurate and appropriate level to set at this point. Elected Members felt it would be helpful to have a note of the exemptions and the Senior Manager Protective Services confirmed they would send them on. Decision Councillor Parry moved the recommendations; this was seconded by Councillor Imrie. 6. Private Reports Exclusion of Members of the Public In view of the nature of the business to be transacted, the Committee agreed that the public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the undernoted item, as contained in the Addendum hereto, as there might be disclosed exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 6 of Part I of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973: 7. Any Other Business There was no other business discussed during the meeting of the GP Committee. 8. Date of next meeting The next meeting of the GP Committee will be held on Tuesday 29 September 2026 at 10.00am. The meeting concluded at 10.09am. Page 7 of 18
Page 8
Page 8 of 18
Page 9
General Purposes Committee Tuesday 29 September 2026 Item No 4.2 General Purposes Committee Action Log No Date of Meeting Item No and Title Action Action Owner Expected completion date Comments 1 17/06/2025 5.1 Civic Government (Scotland)Act 1982: Public Entertainment Licensing – Consultation Outcome and Next Steps Add a Frequently Asked Questions sheet to Midlothian Council website to help answer questions on the licences available and when they are applicable Chief Officer Place Quarter 3 financial year 2025/2026 Frequently Asked Questions regarding PEL Licensing is in draft stage - aim to go live in quarter 3 and additional information can be added to the application forms via the Granicus system if necessary. This action is recommended for closure Rather than 1 specific FAQ page additional information has been added at various pages of the licensing area of the Midlothian Council website relating to Events and Public entertainment licensing to ensure it is more readily available at point of relevance. 2 17/06/2025 5.3 Taxi and Private Hire Cars – Review of Conditions Ensure all points and comments from this meeting are made through the consultation. Chief Officer Place 31 March 2026 All points raised at GP Committee meeting June 2025 will form part of the consultation outcome & taken into consideration in paper presented to Committee Q4 25/26. This action is recommended for closure The matters raised have been incorporated into the conditions to be considered by the Taxi & Private Hire Car Review of Conditions, Working Group. Page 9 of 18
Page 10
3 23/09/2025 5.1 Taxis and Private Hire Cars, Review of Tariffs & Consultation Executive Director Place Chief Officer Place Chief Officer Place 01 October 2025 By 31/03/2026 May 2027 Delegated duty to Executive Director to determine appropriate implementation date of reviewed tariffs as agreed at GP meeting of 23 September 2025 in consultation with General Purposes Committee Chair This action is recommended for closure Matter concluded & new tariffs came into force in January 2026. Engage with Taxi Driver associations to determine what can be done to incentivise Taxi drivers to increase resources to serve the public’s needs and improve taxi availability, particularly for disabled users. [ Linked to Licence condition review] This forms part of the Taxi & Private Hire Car Review of Conditions, Working Group agenda. To meet the statutory review period of 18months the review process will commence in September 2026, and papers presented to GP committee to ensure that the new tariffs are agreed by 11 May 2027. This action is recommended for closure GP Committee Meeting 29th September 2026 agenda item as per required timetable. Page 10 of 18
Page 11
General Purposes Committee Tuesday 29 September 2026 Item No 5.1 Taxis and Private Hire Cars, Review of Tariffs – Seeking authority to hold a public consultation on proposed taxi tariffs. Report by Derek Oliver , Executive Director – Children, Young People and Partnerships Report for Decision 1 Recommendations The Committee is asked to : i) consider the proposed amended tariff levels, as detailed in Appendix C to this report, for all taxis and for private hire cars with fitted taxi meters and to determine if these proposed tariff levels be put out to fulfil the public consultation requirements in accordance with Section 17 (4A)(c) of the Civic Government Scotland Act 1982 (as amended), ii) note that any person may make representations in writing within the relevant time period of at least one month after the first publication by the Local Authority of the proposed scales, and iii) require a further paper to be presented to Committee to enable consideration of all timeous representations before the revised charges take effect. 2 Purpose of Report/Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to seek authority to publicly consult on proposed amendments to the fares (tariffs) for the hire of taxis and other charges in connection with the hire of a taxi within Midlothian. Date: 31st August 2026 Report Contact: David Robertson, Team Manager – Health, Safety & Resilience david.robertson@midlothian.gov.uk Page 11 of 18
Page 12
2 3 Background/Main Body of Report 3.1 The Council, as licensing authority, is required under section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to review and fix the maximum scale of fees and other charges (“the tariff”) which may be used by taxis licensed to operate within Midlothian. The legislation provides that such review should occur at intervals not exceeding 18 months. The tariff will also apply to private hire cars with fitted taxi meters. 3.2 The current Midlothian scale of fees and other charges tariff is attached as Appendix B to this report. These were originally set at General Purposes Committee on 23 September 2025 to be applied from a date determined by the Executive Director Place, in consultation with the GP Committee Chair. A subsequent appeal to the Traffic Commissioner delayed the implementation of the proposed tariffs until 22nd January 2026. Despite this delay, it is incumbent upon the Authority to commence this review now to ensure that revised tariffs are in effect by March 2027 at the latest. 3.3 The initial requirement of a review is that the Council must “consult with persons or organisations appearing to them to be, or to be representative of, the operators of taxis operating within their area.” 3.4 There is a right of appeal to the Scottish Traffic Commissioner in respect of any decision the Committee makes regarding the tariff. This may be exercised by any taxi licence holder. Guidance issued by the Scottish Government is that the Committee should consider the costs of operating a taxi as well as the income available to operators when reviewing and setting the tariff. The Committee should also avoid restricting any increase based on concern about the impact on passengers. 3.5 The Midlothian Taxi Operators Association (MTOA) have been consulted on what they consider the revised tariffs should be. However, there has been no response to this date. Accordingly, the tariff charges proposed for the consultation phase have been increased by inflation, 3%. In addition, increases in charges have also been made under “Other Payments” to reflect higher costs often cited by the MTOA 3.6 As stated above, the tariff establishes the maximum charges which licensed taxis (and metered private hire vehicles) may charge for journeys within Midlothian; it would remain open to the operator to charge a lower fee if they so wished. 3.7 Should the Committee be minded to consult upon the proposed tariff detailed in Appendix C, it would be advertised for a period of not less than one month to allow for representations after which a further report will be brought back to the General Purposes Committee for consideration and, if appropriate, approval. Page 12 of 18
Page 13
3 4 Report Implications (Resource, Digital and Risk) 4.1 Resource There are no resource implications arising from this report. 4.2 Digital There are no risk implications arising from this report. 4.3 Risk Failure to review the tariffs would leave the Local Authority in breach of the requirements of the Civic Government (Scotland Act ) 1982. 4.4 Ensuring Equalities (if required a separate IIA must be completed) This report does not recommend any change to policy or practice and therefore does not require an Equalities Impact Assessment. 4.5 Additional Report Implications (See Appendix A) See Appendix A Appendices Appendix A – Additional Report Implications Appendix B – Existing Tariff Appendix C – Proposed Tariff APPENDIX A – Report Implications A.1 Key Priorities within the Single Midlothian Plan Not applicable A.2 Key Drivers for Change Key drivers addressed in this report: Holistic Working Hub and Spoke Modern Sustainable Transformational Preventative Asset-based Continuous Improvement One size fits one None of the above Page 13 of 18
Page 14
4 A.3 Key Delivery Streams Key delivery streams addressed in this report: One Council Working with you, for you Preventative and Sustainable Efficient and Modern Innovative and Ambitious None of the above A.4 Delivering Best Value This report does not directly impact on Delivering Best Value A.5 Involving Communities and Other Stakeholders The report does not directly relate to involving communities rather consultation will afford the opportunity to stakeholders to make representation should they choose to. A.6 Impact on Performance and Outcomes The report does not directly impact on Midlothian Council’s performance and outcomes A.7 Adopting a Preventative Approach Not applicable A.8 Supporting Sustainable Development Not applicable Page 14 of 18
Page 15
5 APPENDIX B - Current Tariff CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 SECTION 17 TABLE OF MAXIMUM TAXI FARES With effect from 22nd January 2026 For 1 or 2 passengers Tariff 1 Tariff 2 Tariff 3 For the initial hire not exceeding 339m For the initial period of waiting time of 60 seconds For a combination of time and distance £3.50 £4.50 £5.00 For each additional 168.3m For each additional waiting time of 30 seconds For a combination of additional time and distance £0.30 £0.30 £0.40 Tariff 1 – Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm Tariff 2 – Monday to Friday, 6pm to 6am, and from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday (weekend) Tariff 3 – Christmas and New Year – Between 6pm on 24 December and 6am on 27 December, and 6pm on 31 December and 6am on 3 January. Only 2 children under 12 years will be considered as one passenger. No extra fare will be charged for one child under 5 years. Each passenger must be properly seated. Extra Payments When more than 2 passengers - £0.20 each Cleaning Fee – Travel Sickness - £50.00 Pre-bookings – Call Out Charge - £0.60 Pre-bookings – Cancellation Fee - £2.00 Airport Charges It will be the responsibility of the passenger(s) to meet any charges imposed by an airport for waiting, setting down, and picking up. Notes 1. Fares are only applicable within Midlothian. 2. Any hire which terminates outwith Midlothian - fare by agreement before journey. Licensing, Midlothian Council, Fairfield House, 8 Lothian Road, Dalkeith EH22 3AA Page 15 of 18
Page 16
6 APPENDIX C – Proposed Tariff CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 SECTION 17 TABLE OF MAXIMUM TAXI FARES With effect from ……….. 2027 For 1 or 2 passengers Tariff 1 Tariff 2 Tariff 3 For the initial hire not exceeding 339m For the initial period of waiting time of 60 seconds For a combination of time and distance £3.60 (+10p) £4.65 (+15p) £5.15 (+15p) For each additional 168.3m For each additional waiting time of 30 seconds For a combination of additional time and distance £0.30 £0.30 £0.40 Tariff 1 – Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm Tariff 2 – Monday to Friday, 6pm to 6am, and from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday (weekend) Tariff 3 – Christmas and New Year – Between 6pm on 24 December and 6am on 27 December, and 6pm on 31 December and 6am on 3 January. Only 2 children under 12 years will be considered as one passenger. No extra fare will be charged for one child under 5 years. Each passenger must be properly seated. Extra Payments When more than 2 passengers - £0.30 each (+10p) Cleaning Fee – Travel Sickness - £60.00 (+£10) Pre-bookings – Call Out Charge - £0.70 (+10p) Pre-bookings – Cancellation Fee - £2.50 (+50p) Airport Charges It will be the responsibility of the passenger(s) to meet any charges imposed by an airport for waiting, setting down, and picking up. Notes 1. Fares are only applicable within Midlothian. 2. Any hire which terminates outside Midlothian - fare by agreement before journey. The proposed scale of fares is due to come into effect on TBC. Page 16 of 18
Page 17
7 Licensing, Midlothian Council, Fairfield House, 8 Lothian Road, Dalkeith, EH22 3AA Page 17 of 18
Page 18
Page 18 of 18