Agenda item

To inform the Committee of the outcome of the process to find a suitable training package and to seek its approval of implementation of the mandatory condition by supplier C from 1 April 2017 with a cost to attendees of £20.

It was reported that the Committee had agreed at their meeting on 7 January 2016 to introduce a licence condition requiring mandatory training for drivers and operators. This was to be introduced once a suitable training package was in place to deliver this requirement.

A training provider had now been identified and training would be delivered across West Berkshire, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest to achieve economies of scale. Officers had been working closely with the provider to ensure a satisfactory package was delivered.

Drivers and operators would be expected to achieve a minimum of a 80% pass rate to the questionnaire that would be given to them to complete at the end of the training. This would assure a sound level of understanding amongst drivers and operators of the issues and subject area.

Drivers and operators would then be expecting to refresh their training every three years.

The Taxi trade had been consulted on the provision of this training and two responses had been received as detailed in the agenda papers. In relation to some of the points raised in the submission from the taxi trade, the Head of Regulatory Services made the following points:

·         Since the reports around CSE were issued in 2014 in Rotherham and 2015 in Oxford, national policy had been developed and Bracknell Forest responded to this by bringing a report to the Committee in January 2016, there had been no time lag.

·         Within the last five years two licences had been revoked as a result of inappropriate behaviour of drivers. Virtually every local authority was going through the process of training drivers in this area as a result of national policy in this area.

·         The training was designed to protect drivers as well as raise knowledge and awareness of the issues around CSE so that they felt comfortable and able to raise concerns with the appropriate bodies.

·         Three year refresher courses was seen as best practice, this would refresh learning for drivers as well as introduce any new elements that may have arisen during the last three years.

·         It was possible to offer the training course in the evening if there was enough demand for this.

·         The fee for the training to drivers was designed to cover the cost of training and would be kept under review.

In response to queries from the Committee, the following points were made:

·         New applicants for licences would be expected to complete this training before a licence could be issued to them. It was intended and hoped that there would be at least one course per week available for them to choose from.

·         Officers agreed to consider further how they would tackle drivers that did not achieve a 80% pass rate of the questionnaire and whether drivers could be advised of which areas of the questionnaire they had got wrong and given further guidance. It was confirmed that there was no limit to how many times the questionnaire could be completed in order to achieve a 80% pass rate.

·         Members suggested that the submission from the Bracknell Licenced Taxi Forum may be a useful document to share with the training provider, to enable them to see the perception of this training from a driver perspective and attempt to overcome some of the issues. It was key that trainers were very clear that they wanted to work with drivers. 

·         It was confirmed that that there would be a bank of questions to draw from and those detailed in the agenda were just a sample.

·         Members stated that there had been a cultural aspect in some of the issues raised in other local authorities and expressed that it was important that drivers understand the cultural environment in which they operated and that this should be explicit in the training.

·         It was confirmed that drivers or operator licences that expire shortly after the introduction date of the 1 April 2017 would be given a reasonable period of time, two to three months within which to book, attend the training and pass the test before any action would be taken to suspend or revoke their licence for not meeting the new condition.

RESOLVED that the Committee agreed that:

i)       Mandatory safeguarding training for all new and existing drivers and operators be implemented from 1 April 2017

ii)      That all existing drivers and operators must complete the training prior to the next renewal of their licence

iii)     All new applicants must complete the training prior to the issue of a licence

iv)    That the course, once passed, must be retaken by licensed drivers and operators and passed within a 3 year period

v)     That Supplier C be appointed as the selected training provider for a period of 3 years

vi)    That the fee to be charged will be based upon cost recovery, initially set at £20 and reviewed annually as part of the Council’s fees and charges

vii)   The taxi trade be consulted further on the proposed course content prior to the 1 April 2017.