The Hyndburn Borough Council was scheduled to hold a meeting on 25 September 2025, where members were expected to discuss hackney carriage and private hire licensing, motions, and committee appointments. They were also scheduled to review minutes from various cabinet and committee meetings, and to address questions from councillors.

Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing

A report was prepared for Councillor Melissa Fisher, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, regarding proposed changes to the taxi licensing policy. The report pack included a report titled Testing of Taxis - Main Report, as well as several appendices:

• Appendix 1 Proposed Selection Criteria for Approved Testing Stations
• Appendix 2 Proposed Amendment to Taxi and Private Hire Policy
• Appendix 3 Consultation Questions
• Appendix 4 Supplementary Testing Manual
• Appendix 5 Fee Calculations
• Appendix 6 - Customer First Analysis

The report pack noted that the purpose of the report was to advise members of the outcome of a consultation regarding proposed changes to the taxi licensing policy, specifically concerning the mechanical testing of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. The report pack stated that members were asked to consider ending mechanical testing by the Council's Vehicle Maintenance Unit, and instead outsource this to a limited number of independent testing stations throughout the borough.

The report pack included a recommendation that members were asked to consider designating up to five garages within the borough as approved testing stations. The report pack also noted that these garages would be located in different parts of the borough where possible. The report pack also noted that the Executive Director (Legal & Democratic Services) would be delegated the authority to select and appoint approved testing stations, following consultation with the portfolio holder and chair of the Judicial Committee.

The report pack stated that a public consultation took place between 23 June and 14 July 2025, and that the consultation was emailed to all current drivers, vehicle proprietors and operators, plus elected members. The report pack noted that there were 130 responses to the consultation, and that some key data from the consultation included:

• 69% believed that taxi safety would decrease
• 58.21% of respondents who identified themselves as taxi trade believed the proposed changes would not be an improvement to current arrangements
• 59.62% replied that they were not happy with the proposed selection criteria

The report pack stated that concerns raised about the proposal included:

• A drop in the standard of vehicle testing
• The potential for unscrupulous garages to be involved in taxi testing
• The Council would not be able to properly monitor the activities of the approved garages

The report pack stated that respondents who were in favour of the externalisation of taxi testing gave the following reasons:

• An easier process may entice drivers to return from Wolverhampton
• The testing will be of the same standard as CVMU
• They are all professionals who do the same tests
• It provides opportunities for local garages
• It will be easier to book a convenient slot when there are multiple garages offering testing
• It will be cheaper, quicker and easier

The report pack noted that, should the Council decide to proceed with the proposal, the opportunity to become an authorised garage would be advertised for at least 3 weeks.

The report pack stated that the Licensing Manager proposed that fees are charged to each applicant on a staged basis, as follows:

• Application cost £50
• Inspection Charge (if the garage meets criteria) £120
• Approval and Set-Up cost (if approved) £80

Motions

The council was scheduled to discuss the following motions:

• Live Streaming of Meetings, proposed by Councillor David Heap and seconded by Councillor Zak Khan. This motion requested that the Cabinet consider making arrangements for all council meetings to be live streamed online for public viewing.
• Urgent Review of the Article 4 Direction Across Hyndburn, proposed by Councillor Steven Smithson and seconded by Councillor David Heap. This motion called on the Cabinet to urgently review its decision regarding the implementation of the Article 4 Direction¹ for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)² across Hyndburn, and to provide a clear, transparent explanation as to why seven wards have been excluded from this policy.
• Support for Local Businesses amid Financial Pressures, proposed by Councillor Zak Khan and seconded by Councillor Steven Smithson. This motion requested that the Cabinet develops an urgent report outlining practical and targeted measures to support local businesses, tailored to individual sectors, and reviews the importance of establishing an Economic and Regeneration Fund. It also requested that the Leader of the Council and Leader of the Opposition write a joint cross-party letter to Sarah Smith MP, urging her to recognise that the country cannot tax its way to grow and to stand up for Hyndburn businesses by vocally opposing any new tax rises.
• Fair Funding Review, proposed by Councillor Zak Khan and seconded by Councillor Joyce Plummer. This motion requested that the Leader of the Council, along with Leaders of the Opposition parties, write a joint cross-party letter on behalf and signed by all Councillors, to Sarah Smith MP, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for MHCLG[^4], to urge them to conduct an urgent review and reverse Hyndburn's inclusion on the list of adversely affected authorities.

Committee Appointments

The council was scheduled to consider an addendum to the agenda regarding appointments to committees. The addendum stated that the Council was invited to consider and give effect to requests from the various political groups, as follows:

• Labour and Co-operative: The appointment of Councillors Noordad Aziz, Clare Pritchard and Kimberley Whitehead to the Standards Committee, to replace Councillors Stephen Button, Bernard Dawson and Ethan Rawcliffe and the appointment of Councillor Noordad Aziz as Chair.

Other Matters

The agenda included the following items:

• Apologies for absence
• Declarations of Interest and Dispensations
• Announcements from the Mayor, Leader of the Council and Chief Executive
• Confirmation of Minutes from the Council meeting held on 10th July 2025
• Question Time, to deal with any questions submitted under Council Procedure Rule A2.2(vi)
• Minutes of Cabinet meetings held on 26th March, 30th July and 10th September 2025
• Minutes of various committees