A FORMAL recommendation made by the council’s Licensing Committee has been ignored, claim councillors.
A recommendation earlier this year by the Licensing Committee to freeze taxi drivers’ license fees at last year’s levels, due to the impact of Covid-19 on trade.
Cllr Rachel Burgess, leader of the Labour group, proposed the original motion, was seconded by Cllr Sarah Kerr, Liberal Democrat councillor and it was supported by Conservative members of the committee.
But Cllr Burgess said committee members were surprised to learn last week this recommendation had “gone nowhere”.
She said: “The Conservative leadership did not even have the courage to discuss the recommendation at a public meeting of the executive.
“Instead, the recommendation from the Licensing Committee appears to have been simply ignored. A recommendation that would not be material to the council’s finances – but would be material to individual drivers.”
Cllr Kerr, who seconded the motion said in the meeting, councillors were told there was “no appetite” for the plan to freeze the fee.
“A member of the executive — we don’t know who — has decided to overturn the decision of a committee,” she said. “It should be decided publicly.”
Cllr Clive Jones, leader of the Wokingham Liberal Democrats, said: “I think the Conservative executive member probably thought that taxi drivers have had enough Covid support and were using it as a reason to save £9,000 or £10,000 and they’ve been caught out trying to ignore the wishes of the licensing committee.”
Cllr Steven Conway, deputy leader of the Wokingham Liberal Democrats, said: “It raises interesting questions about whether an executive member, acting on their own, really should be overturning a decision by a semi-judical body.
“At the very least, one would expect an explanation or a response from an executive member that shows some kind of respect for the committee’s status. You would expect the executive to at least try and engage with what’s being suggested and explain if it doesn’t wish to go ahead with a decision or wishes for it to be reconsidered.”
Cllr Burgess said the decision not to discuss the Licensing Committee’s recommendation undermines democracy at Wokingham Borough Council.
“The Executive is within their right to vote down a recommendation of a committee,” she said. “What they are not entitled to do is to pretend we do not exist. It is disgraceful.”
Cllr Kerr said residents deserve to know that is happening in their council.
“The public need to know what is happening,” she said. “It’s completely undemocratic.”
Cllr John Halsall, leader of the borough council said: “It is not an executive committee. It is not a budget setting and budget meeting, if it recommends something, the executive member doesn’t necessarily have to go along with it.
“The constitution is very clear, executive decisions are taken by executive members.
“Anything which has monetary implications is taken, by the least, to executive members.
“The licencing appeals committee, if it’s making a financial recommendation which is not in the budget, has to go to the executive as a supplementary estimate. If it’s not in the budget, and no such recommendation has happened.”
Cllr Burgess said taxi drivers have been impacted enormously by the pandemic with many unable to work for a long time.
She said the license fees have almost doubled over the last three years, with some some resorting to foodbanks.
“It’s just not realistic or right to expect our drivers to be able to pay fees at this level when for much of the last 18 months they have been unable to work,” she said. “They have been paying a license fee during the pandemic for a job they have largely not been able to do, and now they are expected to pay even more.”
She said four Conservative councillors, two executive members and two deputy executive members, were at the Licensing Committee meeting at which the proposal was recommended to freeze fees.
“They have said nothing,” she said. “Either their concern for the taxi trade ended once they left the meeting, or the leadership cares so little about our taxi drivers that the executive members were not even told that the Licensing Committee’s decision was refused.”
Cllr Bill Soane, executive member for neighbourhoods and communities, said: “The licensing committee does not have the authority to set fees, only to make recommendations to full council. If the council agrees to the recommendations, then the money will need to be found elsewhere.”
