LEEDS:
Taxi and private hire drivers in Leeds could soon be subject to three-yearly criminal record checks under proposals drawn up by the city council. A report to the coun- cil’s licensing com- mittee said: “There is no policy in place to direct that additional CRB disclosures be required during the lifetime of a licence.” Best practice guid- ance issued by the Department for Trans- port says that checks should be made every three years. The issue of more fre- quent CRB checks was also raised in an internal audit review of the council’s taxi and private hire section. It said: “To comply with current best prac- tice guidance,
the
section should require CRB disclosures to be renewed every three years, in addition to the requirement for new applicants.” The report to the com- mittee said:
“The
introduction of a three- yearly CRB vetting procedure in line with best practice guid- ance would contribute to a risk reduction in respect of public safe- ty. “There are strong rea- sons for the intro- duction of such a poli- cy as indicated by the Department for Trans- port and the council could be at risk if the guidance is not fol- lowed.” The council is to hold three months’ public consultation over the proposal before a fur- ther
report is
produced in October for the committee to consider. Councillor
Karen
Bruce told the York- shire Evening Post: “It seems sensible to have regular CRB checks because it is about helping to keep
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ROUNDTHE... BEDFORD:
DRIVERS FACE EXTRACRIMINAL RECORDCHECKS
the public safe.” Councillor Asghar Khan said the sug- gested time frame of a check once every three years seemed appropriate. Councillor
Ryk
Downes said he under- stood the approach the council was taking but added: “The sys- tem is wrong because you get a CRB check but the following week it’s effectively out of date because some- thing could have happened in the meantime.” Drivers will pay an estimated £64 for the extra checks. Meanwhile the situa- tion at Leeds Bradord Airport, which PHTM has been following closely, develops as a councillor is calling for a taxi rank on the road outside Leeds Brad- ford Airport in a bid to help resolve safety issues around the ‘kiss and fly’ charge. Guiseley and Rawdon councillor Pat Latty made her call amid air- port plans to continue its £2 drop-off charge. Leeds Plans Panel West members agreed last month to dis- charge a planning condition that means the airport can pro- ceed with its terminal extension, and which also allows it to main- tain
the charge
outside the terminal. The airport has agreed to provide free one- hour parking closer to the terminal than is already the case. There are also plans to tighten up on vehicles stopping in White- house Lane. Cllr Latty told the Wharfedale Observer: “I am really disap- pointed about this. It did seem we were finally making pro- gress towards getting rid of this £2 tax on passengers. Not only is it unfair financially
on holidaymakers, but it is also a real safety issue as many people have been avoiding the charge by getting dropped off in White- house Lane or in other streets that surround the airport. “The new free parking arrangements are a positive, but it remains to be seen if passen- gers will use it as it will be further away from the main terminal building.” Cllr Latty added: “While this new pro- posal is better, one possible alternative would be to introduce a taxi rank in White- house Lane, but the council appears reluc- tant to fund such a scheme, despite the fact it would be hugely popular with the wider taxi trade and would lead to a much safer environment at the air- port.” Otley and Yeadon Councillor
Colin
Campbell also voiced his concerns. He said: “I am disappointed the plans panel has accepted proposals that fail to deal with the traffic issues asso- ciated with airport parking.
Initially, it
appeared to support the idea of a free drop- off point to discourage motorists from stop- ping in Whitehouse Lane, which does cause a traffic hazard. “This should have been associated with a longer stay pick-up facility to prevent resi- dents in neighbouring streets being inconve- nienced by drivers parking while waiting for planes to land. “Instead,
the panel
agreed to allow the air- port to introduce a free hour stay car parking area a bus drive from the airport. I am con- cerned this will do nothing to ease the parking
problems caused by the airport.” ‘CALLMEATAXI’ NOT IFYOU’REA PHV
Private hire firms could soon be banned from advertising using the word ‘taxi’ after a hackney
carriage
association asked a licensing authority to carry out a consulta- tion. Bedford Hackney Car- riage Association has requested that Bed- ford Borough Council stops private hire firms using the word when advertising their serv- ice. But
the move has
been slammed as ‘triv- ial’ and petty’ by one
cab firm owner who claims he found out about the consultation four days before the deadline. Currently PHVs are prevented from dis- playing signs which say ‘taxi’ ‘cab’ ‘taxi cab’ or ‘for hire’ and the pri- vate hire companies can’t use these words in their business name. If granted, a decision on the matter - which would affect more than 700 PHVs - could he made as early as next month. Abdul Khalid, who owns
24-7 Cars in Greyfriars, told Bedfordshire on Sunday: “When people call up they say ‘can I have a taxi?’ “It is a common term used in day-to-day conversation. I can’t see what the hackney carriages are going to gain from this. “I and many others only found out about it [on Friday] and so I’m urging my drivers to get their representa- tions in before the deadline. “To me it’s petty, trivial and not needed.”
ELMBRIDGE: CABBIESUNITEAGAINST ‘UNFAIR’ LICENSING POLICY
Taxi drivers are furious about changes to licensing conditions that are hitting them hard in the pocket. Private hire and taxi drivers are furious at changes brought in by Elmbridge Council earlier this year. Under the new rules, drivers must buy a year’s licence for £235, as always, but if their car is taken off the road for any rea- son they have to pay for a whole new year for their temporary car. They then have to pay the year again when they bring their old car back on to the road, even if
they have
already paid the licence on it. It means a taxi driver who has an accident and needs repair work could pay for a year’s licence three times in a year. If they buy a new car two months in to buy- ing a new licence, no refund is offered and they have to pay for a whole new year again. Taxi driver Jawved Siddique, who works from Weybridge train
station, told This is Local
London:
“Everybody is really angry about it and we’re upset with the way the council is treating us.” A council spokesman said the licence serv- ice was cost-neutral. He said: “The amount of work involved in processing a transfer licence was the same as that
for a new
licence. The fees therefore needed to be realigned to reflect this. Legal concerns were raised regarding transferring a licence from car to car. The car itself is the subject of the licence so it did not follow that this could be transferred from vehicle to vehi- cle.” Another taxi operator from Weybridge, who did not wish to be named, said: “I under- stand they have administration fees because there are a lot of drivers on the road, but I’m sure they’re more than covering costs and I’m sure there’s enough money through basic licens- ing to budget
for things like accidents.”
He said he had a shortage of drivers and was struggling to attract them to Elm- bridge
neighbouring oughs were
because bor- not
imposing the same costs. He said: “I just can’t fill the spaces and persuade people to come to Elmbridge and that’s been hap- pening for the past three
years with
changes the council have been making.” Drivers are also angry at new rules banning tinted
windows,
which come as stan- dard on some people carriers and “high class” vehicles. One driver who bought a new car six weeks ago was forced to pay £600 to change the windows. The taxi operator said: “I think it’s disgusting. Bearing in mind all our drivers
are CRB
checked, are they say- ing we can’t be trusted? “It’s not nice. Police should have the confi- dence that the guy behind the wheel is safe and all the checks have to stand for something.”
PHTM AUGUST 2012
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