AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
begins, nor ends, nor passes through the area for which that authority is responsible (Dittah, at page 363D-F); although it may be that, if an operation engages in journeys none or few of which pass through the geo- graphical area of the licensing authority, then a licence may not be forthcoming from that authority (see the comments of Foskett J in respect of the analogous hack- ney carriage regime in R (Blue Line Taxis) v The Council of the County of Northumberland [2012] EWHC 1539 (Admin) (“Northumberland County Council”) at [61] and following).
[TDO court case database] We also like the way he said:
“If an operation engages in journeys none or few of which pass through the geographically fixed area of the licensing authority, then a licence may not be forthcoming from that authority”
Something Wolverhampton City Council may wish to consider as it was mentioned no less than five times in the second reading of the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill mentioned earlier.
Here is one excerpt: -
I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing this important Bill to the house. Of the 15,000 private hire licences issued by City of Wolverhampton Council in 2019, many were for drivers spread across the United Kingdom, including at least one as far away as Perth, which is quite some taxi drive. Does my hon. Friend think that the Scottish Govern- ment and other devolved national Governments should, following what will hopefully be the Bill’s passage, work with the UK Government to reciprocate the flow of data to ensure that all authorities throughout the United kingdom have access to the best possible information.
[Parliament Bills online]
That’s quite an achievement, issuing 15,000 private hire licences!
We wondered if Wolverhampton City Council will be sending its licence enforcement officers to Perth? Maybe they should study the 76 Act a little more closely.
Without council enforcement of the 76 Act, which seems quite apparent right across the country at present, it does indeed appear that we have returned to pre-June 1974 and a wild west situation - but this time the councils already have the power to act, but choose not to.
In every case where we have had dealings with councils regarding crossborder hiring and the enforcement of the 76 Act, we have found that elected councillors have understood and had the enthusiasm to enforce. Medway Council being one in particular, actually voted at full council to enforce against Uber for operating illegally in Medway, and yet to date, no action has been taken. So much for democracy.
However, when the issue gets to the council officers, the barriers come up and, quite rightly they seek legal opinion. Amazingly so far, councils’ legal opinions have all come back saying that there is nothing they can do. They are powerless to act. Also, they have all refused any access to see their legal opinion.
We can’t help but find irony in the fact that when council officers ask for a legal opinion, it is of sound advice that they will follow to the end, yet when the trade share a legal opinion that they have sought, it is not worthy of discussion. What makes one QC’s opinion better than another’s, surely that’s for the courts to decide, isn’t it?
Whenever the trade has obtained a legal opinion, it has come back that these operators (it’s not just app companies, it seems lots of operators are jumping on this band wagon) are operating illegally.
To be clear, the views expressed in this article are those of the authors and may not necessarily be those of of the publishers.
See Part 3 in the May issue of PHTM
AT PHTM EXPO MILTON KEYNES MAIN SEMINAR - 1pm TUESDAY 31 MAY
APRIL 2022 11
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