The Licensing and Enforcement Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss a review of hackney carriage fare tariffs, as well as a summary review of the Licensing Act 2003 Statement of Licensing Policy and a new draft pavement licence policy. The committee will consider objections to a proposed variation to the East Devon hackney carriage fare tariff table. They will also receive an update on activities of the Licensing Service.

Hackney Carriage Fare Tariff Review

The committee will be asked to consider objections received against the proposed variation to the hackney carriage fare tariff table and exercise the council's powers under Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to set a further date, not later than two months after the first specified date, on which the table of fares shall come into force with or without modifications.

The report pack includes a report titled Hackney Carriage Fare Tariff Review 2025. According to this report, on 16 July 2025, the Licensing & Enforcement Committee determined to exercise the council's powers under Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and approved moving to public consultation on a proposed new hackney carriage fare tariff table for East Devon.

The proposed fare tariff table can be viewed at Appendix A and was chosen from a range of options available. The variation gave effect to a fare rise of approximately 2% across all three tariffs.

Following this decision, notice of the proposal to amend the fare tariff table was published in two local newspapers (the Exmouth Journal and Midweek Herald) on Wednesday 30th July 2025 and a copy of the public notice was displayed at the council's offices, in both Honiton and Exmouth, from the same date. A copy of the public notice can be viewed at Appendix B.

According to the report, a total of six objections to the proposed new fare tariff were received within the notice period and the objections now require consideration by the Licensing & Enforcement Committee. All of the objections were made by members of the East Devon taxi trade. Five of the objections received were not in favour of any increase or change being made to the fare tariff and one objector felt that the proposed fare increase was insufficient. A copy of all objections received can be found at Appendix C of this report.

The report pack notes that the Department for Transport have issued revised Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Best Practice Guidance for Licensing Authorities in England . This guidance states the following in relation to the setting of taxi fares:

Maximum fare rates should be designed with a view to practicality and reviewed regularly, including any variability of the fare rates dependent on time of day or day of the week. Authorities should consider adopting a simple formula for deciding on fare changes as this will increase understanding and improve the transparency of the process for passengers. The Department recommends that in reviewing fare rates, authorities should pay particular regard to the needs of the travelling public, with reference both to what it is reasonable to expect people to pay but also to the need to give taxi drivers the ability to earn a sufficient income and so incentivise them to provide a service when it is needed. There is likely to be a case for higher fare tariffs at times of higher demand to encourage more drivers to make themselves available or when the journeys are required at anti-social times.

The report notes that the committee must endeavour to ensure that the East Devon hackney carriage fare tariff is set at a rate that gives particular regard to the needs of the travelling public and vulnerable users while allowing taxi drivers the ability to earn a sufficient income.

The committee will be asked to consider the objections received and determine whether any modifications to the varied hackney carriage table of fares, previously agreed on the 16th July 2025, are necessary. When considering the objections, the committee will note that the majority of objectors considered the proposed fare increase to be too high and were not in favour of any change being made to the existing table of fares that came into effect on the 18th June 2024. The existing table of fares is set out at Appendix D of this report.

The committee is also asked to note that two objectors referred to the extra soiling charge in the proposed table of maximum fares within their objection and expressed the opinion that this charge is too low to reflect the current costs of valeting a vehicle.

Licensing Act 2003 - Statement of Licensing Policy

The committee will receive a report providing an update on activities of the Licensing Service under the Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005, taxi legislation and general licensing including street trading and pavement licensing.

The committee will also be asked to approve conducting a consultation for the summary review of the Licensing Act 2003 Statement of Licensing Policy. The report pack notes that only limited changes to the Statement of Licensing Policy are being proposed and that the council is required to hold a consultation.

New Draft Pavement Licence Policy

The committee will be asked to consider a proposal to move to a public consultation on a draft pavement licensing policy.

The report pack notes that District Councils were handed responsibility for the issuing of temporary 'fast track' pavement licences via the Business & Planning Act 2020 in August 2020, to streamline the process of obtaining a pavement licence and help businesses during the Covid pandemic. The temporary pavement licences were limited in duration to 30th September 2024, and as such the government subsequently made amendments via the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023 to make the provisions of the temporary pavement licence regime permanent. As a result of these legislative changes, licences previously issued by Devon County Council under the previous Highways Act 1980 regime will also now only be issued by district councils.

In order to promote consistency between local authorities across Devon and Cornwall a Draft Pavement Licensing Policy has been produced by the Devon Licensing Officers Group, with the view to this policy being adopted in each local authority area. The policy will ensure that the council carries out its pavement licensing responsibilities in a fair, equitable and consistent manner.