ROUND THE COUNCILS ST HELENS:
REDDITCH: PROPOSED LICENSING CONDITIONS CHANGES
Changes to licensing conditions for PHVs in St Helens have been proposed in an effort make the pub- lic safer. On 19 February, St Helens Council’s licensing and envi- ronmental protect- ion committee ag- reed to launch a four-week consulta- tion with the trade. The changes are part of a drive from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to align conditions and poli- cies in order to maintain standards across the region. The St Helens Star reported that the majority of the pro- posals, most of
which focus on PH operator conditions, are being driven by safeguarding, includ- ing tightening up complaint report- ing and record keep- ing of complaints. The licensing man- ager, Lorraine Simp- son, stated that in general operators do not disclose in- formation to licens- ing authorities relat- ing to complaints because it is not a licensing condition. She said it’s now been made clear in the revised condi- tions exactly what is expected.
Ms Simpson added that licensing auth- orities have also found that some
operators across the city region are not taking the necessary contact details when they take a booking. It was agreed that operators must put all necessary details into their system when taking the booking so every- body knows who that person is, where they are and where they’re headed. A separate consulta- tion will also take place with PH opera- tores on proposals to introduce revised vehicle door signage that clearly states the area where the vehicle is licensed. The results will be presented to com- mittee.
PRACTICAL DRIVING ASSESSMENT REVIEW
In December 2017, Redditch BC made a number of changes to its policies on the licensing of drivers of HCs and PHVs. One change intro- duced a require- ment that HC and PHV drivers take a practical driving as- sessment at least every three years. Concerns have been repeatedly raised that this is dispro- portionate and un-
justifiable. Members of the council’s li- censing committee considered these concerns and decid- ed to carry out con- sultation on whether they should remove the requirement. If the requirement was removed, a practical driving assessment will still need to be under- taken by any person applying for a licence for the first
time. The council would also reserve the right to require individual licensed drivers to undertake the assessment at any time should legitimate concerns be raised about their standard of driving. The consultation closed on 20 March. All responses re- ceived will be con- sidered by
the licensing committee.
VALE OF W HORSE/S. OXON CALL FOR MEASURES TO IMPROVE SAFETY
Councillors at Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) and South Oxford- shire District Council (SODC) have unani- mously backed a motion calling on the government to intro- duce new measures to improve safety standards for taxis. Cllrs Alison Jenner (VWHDC) and Anne- Marie Simpson (SODC) proposed the motion at their respective council meetings on 12 and 20 February following significant concerns that na- tional laws and safe- guards are no longer fit to serve the cur- rent taxi and PH in- dustry, potentially put- ting passenger and driver safety at risk. Laws have failed to keep up with changes in technol- ogy, meaning they fail to address the fact that many peo- ple now book taxi journeys via smart- phone apps.
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The current legisla- tion is also inconsis- tent, with greater requirements placed on PHVs than on HCs. This can put passenger safety at risk and makes it very difficult to in- vestigate allegations of improper conduct by drivers of HCs. Currently, private hire operators who have lost their licence are free to continue to trade using hackney carriages and there are no legal means to stop this from hap- pening or to control their operations. There are also signif- icant limits on how information can be shared across local authority areas. This means drivers or op- erators who are fac- ing enforcement act- ion in one area can easily apply for, and be granted, a licence elsewhere in the country. Following approval of the motion, leaders of
the two councils will write to their respec- tive MPs, and to the Minister for Transport, to request the follow- ing action be taken: 1. Government to en- act the three key measures recom- mended by Task and Finish Group:
a) a national taxi li- censing database
b) cross border en- forcement for LAs
c) national minimum standards for li- cences.
2. The Government should provide an update of how they propose to deal with cross- border working
3. The Government should legislate to require any person taking bookings for more than one vehicle to be li- censed as an oper- ator, with national standards for the information record- ed by licensed op- erators in respect of bookings.
APRIL 2020
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