THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UUdS5kAT3ZkSQBqlhkbMZq-NIu2YPhga

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HARROW

 A private hire driver who sexually assaulted his female passengers has been jailed.

Hire Mire, of The Mall, Harrow, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault by touching at Wood Green Crown Court on November 16.

The 51-year-old had committed three assaults in Surrey and Hackney during a period of two days in September 2017.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

The driver also received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that will prevent him from driving any female that is not family member or someone previously known to him.

Mire had previously been convicted of public order offences in April after he spoke to two separate lone women in a sexual manner, making them feel vulnerable and intimidated in his car.

https://goo.gl/Q8mA5D
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STOCKPORT

 A man has been arrested after a taxi driver was stabbed in Bramhall.

The driver was waiting to pick up a fare on Linney Road when he was approached by a man who demanded money, just after midnight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Immediately after demanding money, the man lunged at the taxi driver with a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen.

The offender then fled the scene as the taxi driver crawled to safety at a nearby property.

He was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

A few hours later, officers arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of robbery at an address in Davenport.

He remains in custody for questioning.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Downey, of GMP’s Stockport Borough, said: “This was a seemingly random attack on a man as he was simply trying to do his job.

“Thankfully he managed to crawl to safety and is now receiving treatment in hospital but this could have been much worse.

https://goo.gl/kY1YzM
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Taxi drivers in Wokingham and West Berkshire are set to be forced to pay more for their licences in changes made to bring prices to identical levels with Bracknell.

Private hire drivers could be forced to pay up to £120 more for new licences or licence renewals when changes are voted on by the council following a consultation.

This comes after the News revealed taxi drivers are being hit hard by Uber drivers who do not need to pay for a licence with the council, despite being able to pick up passengers in the area.

Labour councillor Rachel Burgess said some of the changes were “steep” at a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council’s licensing committee, and the Norreys councillor later told the News: “I proposed that in these cases the increases should be phased over a period of years to avoid a sharp and unexpected rise in fees next year.

“I am also concerned that the licensing committee as a whole will not be reviewing any objections raised as a result of the imminent consultation on fees and charges – it will be up to the chairperson alone to take a view on any objections and set the final fees to be recommended to Council, rather than the full committee.

“My Conservative and Lib Dem colleagues seemed content with this – I was not.”

Hackney Carriage vehicles and private hire vehicle licences are set to increase in price from £161 to £289, with temporary vehicle licences and private hire licences with dispensation also set to see increases of more than £60 and £120 respectively.

Liberal Democrats councillor Lindsay Ferris said: “There needs to be justification to show why the price has gone up.”

The price increases take into account cost recovery amounts of £55 an hour, and fellow Lib Dem Cllr Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey added that the price increases make business-sense claiming she “did not disagree with cost recovery”.

A report produced for the council read: “The 2018/19 fees and charges for hackney carriage and private hire licences shows a significant disparity between the former West Berkshire (Council) and Wokingham (Borough Council) fee structure and the Bracknell (Forest Council) fee structure, in respect of vehicle and operator licensing.

“Driver rates have remained in line with inflation and have been brought into line across the three Public Protection Partnership Councils.”

Conservative councillor Malcolm Richards said: “We should not have a cost that is so unattractive that people are not registering at all.”

Fellow Conservative councillor Mike Haines asked how many vehicles these changes will affect and an officer claimed that up to 1,000 licence holders would see price increases across Wokingham, Bracknell and West Berkshire.

A consultation on the price increases is set to take place after the Wokingham Borough Council licensing committee decided to move the suggestions to the next phase.

Fee changes were also proposed for animal licences, including pet shop licences, dangerous animal licences and dog breeding licences.

Previously animal licenses were only applicable in Bracknell, but these changes will make them available in Wokingham and West Berkshire too.

https://goo.gl/6zJLN6