ROUND THE COUNCILS SOUTHAMPTON:
GRAVESEND:
Four “dangerous” taxis were banned from Southampton’s roads in a joint sting by police and city licensing bosses. Another taxi, from outside the city, had rear tyres so worn down that officers could see metal through the rubber. According to the Southern Daily Echo, all five vehicles were taken off the road instantly during the joint operation last
FIVE TAXIS BANNED FROM ROAD month.
Nine other drivers, five of whom were private hire, were also told to make urgent repairs to their cars. It follows a sting in which police and city council licens- ing staff took up position and waited for passing taxis. Vehicles were stop- ped if they were spotted with “obvi- ous defects” – such as broken lights. Vehicles were then
DRIVERS OPT FOR DIGITAL LICENSING METHODS
checked at the scene, before being sent to the city council’s approved testing station for further inspection. In total, 13 South- ampton licensed ve- hicles were sent for testing, including nine HCs and four PHVs. Taxi driver and union representative Perry McMillan also said he was disap- pointed and urged fellow cabbies to “up their game”.
NORTH TYNESIDE: NO TRAINING RESULTS IN NINE SUSPENSIONS
Nine taxi drivers have had their licences suspended and a further three have been revoked after they did not complete training on how to spot signs of child sexual exploitation. All hackney carriage and private hire drivers licensed by North Tyneside Council must under- go child sexual exploitation (CSE) awareness training. Hundreds of cab- bies have com- pleted the course; however, the coun- cil’s latest figures show that nine drivers have recent- ly been suspended after they failed to complete the train- ing and three have had their licences revoked. The three drivers whose li- cences were with- drawn have not appealed against the decision so they
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are no longer in the trade. The authority says it is vital that taxi drivers complete the training, which is free, so they know how to help safe- guard young and vulnerable people. Cllr John Harrison, the authority’s cabi- net member for housing and trans- port, told the Chronicle: “Drivers can play an impor- tant role in helping to safeguard vulner- able people as they may see, hear or recognise situations or behaviour that may be of concern. “It’s why we’ve ensured licensed drivers undergo awareness
training
to help in the pre- vention of sexual exploitation and know how to report it.” The CSE training for existing drivers began in September
2015. A number of face-to-face training sessions were of- fered and from September 2017, online training was also made available. All new applicants are required to com- plete the training as part of the applica- tion process, other- wise a licence will not be issued. The issue of child sexual exploitation has been in the headlines over the last
few months
through Northum- bria Police’s Oper- ation Sanctuary and Operation Shelter, which looked at grooming gangs. Shelter targeted a network of preda- tors who groomed troubled women and girls in Newcas- tle’s West End then passed them around for sex. The opera- tion led to a number of people being jailed.
Gravesham taxi drivers are swapping traditional licensing methods in favour of digital services. About 250 drivers have opted for mobile friendly forms - making the whole service shift online and helping towards making the council’s taxi licensing 100 per cent digital.
Cllr Samir Jassal, cabinet member for business develop- ment, told the Gravesend Reporter: “This is a really good move forward for our taxi drivers, as many were not used
to using computers but they have really got on board with what we’re trying to achieve.” The council helps those drivers who need assistance in filling in the online forms and a text message service is also available to remind drivers of when their MoT, insurance and vehicle inspections are due. Cllr Jassal added: “By introducing this technology to our drivers it means they don’t have to keep coming into the Civic Centre and
OLDHAM: TAXI DRIVER QUALIFICATIONS IMPLEMENTED
Oldham Council is one of the first local authorities in the region to make it mandatory for pri- vate hire and hack- ney carriage drivers to hold a Road Pas- senger Transport qualification. According to the Oldham Chronicle, the council’s Licens- ing Committee have approved a report which will ensure that all Oldham’s 1,300 licensed driv- ers attain an NVQ Level 2 in Road Pas- senger Transport. The course aims to equip all drivers with the relevant skills and abilities they need in order to per- form their job to the best of their ability. The training will focus around im- proving knowledge of health and safety,
professional driving, customer service, providing assistance, transporting chil- dren, and the vulnerable, and li- censing. Some drivers may already have gained the qualification but this new policy makes it mandatory for all drivers to hold it.
Cllr Norman Briggs, Chair of the Licens- ing Committee, said: “Our licensed drivers are some of our biggest ambas- sadors for Oldham. “They represent the borough and are often a first contact with somebody vis- iting the town. “We are one of the first councils in the region to mandate this and we look for- ward to having a fully qualified and
competent fleet of drivers supporting our residents and visitors.” Abdul Khayal, Chair of the Oldham Hack- ney Association, said: “We as an Association wel- come the oppor- tunity to engage and further develop our skills for the benefit of raising standards and promoting pub- lic confidence. We work well with the Council in develop- ing policies and I look forward to see- ing drivers taking part.”
Funding has been sourced through Wigan and Leigh College with the training being deliv- ered by Unite the Union. This means there is no cost to either the council or the driver.
APRIL 2018
it gives them more time to focus on the service they provide to the public.” The council is work- ing towards turning the rest of its licens- ing department fully digital, which will enable more oppor- tunities to do compliance work – allowing public safe- ty to be an im- portant priority of work. There are nine forms within the taxi licensing part of our website with more than 400 submis- sions since they launched last year.
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