Communities Secretary set to return licensing functions to Rotherham

The Communities Secretary is proposing to hand back licensing powers to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

The move would allow the council to resume all decision making on licensing matters, including for hackney carriage and private hire taxi services, for the first time since February 2015 without the consent of Government-appointed Commissioners.

In his letter to Rotherham’s chief executive, Sajid Javid said the return of the service to the council would be subject to local views.

The proposal is to be considered by the council leadership and members. The Communities Secretary will then consider any representations before making a final decision on whether to return the licensing function to the council.

The return of powers follows evidence given by Commissioner Mary Ney, who noted improvements made to Rotherham’s licensing function and said that elected members had the skills and capability to take on the decision making role.

The council said the proposals would see Ney maintain an overview of decisions and sit in an advisory capacity with members, in the few cases which were deferred from the Commissioners previous hearing and on a sample basis and at the request of the Chair.

Commissioner Ney said: "The council has worked hard to implement a range of improvements to its licensing function and it is now appropriate to consider the return of decision making to the council. Councillors have worked with me in an advisory capacity for over 20 months and have gained considerable experience as the council implemented the new arrangements.

"Public confidence and safety is now at the heart of the council's licensing service and the new Hackney Carriage and Taxi Licensing Policy, the benefits of which we know passengers are already experiencing.

"Whilst we understand that the council is still on its improvement journey and we are focused on this and rebuilding trust and confidence in the way services are managed and delivered, this will be another significant step forward in that journey. We now await the Secretary of State's final decision."

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham, said: "This is welcome news and a real vote of confidence in the work undertaken by the council over the last 20 months, alongside Commissioners, to deliver necessary improvements. We've lots more to do but - should this decision be confirmed next month - it would be another step in the right direction, for the council and for Rotherham."

One of Javid's predecessors as Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, sent Commissioners into Rotherham after reports on child sexual exploitation in the borough by Professor Alexis Jay in 2014 and Louise Casey in 2015.