WOLVERHAMPTON WOES...


As readers will probably gather by now, this edition is focus- ing rather heavily on Wolverhampton because of all the controversy surrounding its current licensing policy and pro- cedures. You’ll see on these two pages the diametrically opposed views: drivers have staged go-slows and demos; operators in the district are quite happy for out-of-area operators to utilise their base as a base. Council after council is writing in protest to the flagrant and widespread cross- border activity generated byWolverhampton licensing, as is sampled here fromWinchester. On the other hand we have a Wolverhampton training officer “telling it like it is” when he puts applicants through their training and testing pro- gramme. There’s more in Opinion, as well as a profile of Wolverhampton out-of-area licensing officer John Bamber. See what you make of it all.


INSIDEWOLVERHAMPTON’S TAXI LICENCE TEST ROOM


Wolverhampton’s Express and Star reporter Pete Made- ley sat in a licensing course for potential PHV drivers, deliv- ered by Nigel Todd, and produced this report. Nigel Todd has had enough of people criticising Wolver- hampton Council’s private hire licensing system. The 60-year-old has been


delivering


licensing courses for 16 years, and he is adamant that the city’s current process offers the best ser- vice out there. In recent months he has felt like he is in the minority, as crit- ics line up to accuse the council of doling out licences fast and cheap in an effort to make a quick buck. “A lot of the criticism is completely unfair,” says Nigel, who heads a team of three that run train- ing programmes as part of a joint initia- tive between Wol- verhamptonandWor- cestershire County Council. “It is rubbish to say it is easy to get a licence here.We have


34


a 44 per cent failure rate. Just because the process is easy does not mean it is easy to pass.” The council charges £69 for a licence – far lower


It means licence than most


other authorities – and drivers can be licensed in just 20 days.


Wolverhampton has become the go-to place for


hunters from towns and cities across the country. Some other local authorities are an- noyed. Aside from the fact that their own licensing coffers are dwindling, they say that cross-bor- der hiring means drivers with


a


Wol ve rhampton licence can operate in their areas with lit- tle or no checks. Wol ve rhampton cabbies are not happy either, arguing thatthe ease of obtaining a licence means the city’s roads are flooded with new drivers. But the system has certainly


proved


popular with out-of- towners, who have flocked to the city in their thousands to


get a licence. The evidence is in the numbers. The council gave out 9,388 licences over the last year, up from 852 three years ago, bringing in £2.2 mil- lion. It has been made possible by the 2015 Deregulation Act, allowing licensed dri- vers to operate any- where in the country. However,


anyone


applying in Wolver- hampton must at- tend a four-hour training session, in- cluding guidance on conditions of licence, disability awareness, CSE and safeguard- ing. It is followed by a multiple-choice test. A recent class was attended by 14 can- didates; only one driver was from Wolverhampton. It highlights one of the major criticisms the city has faced. If a driver from say, Weymouth,


is li-


censed in Wolver- hampton, there is surely no way they can be checked on by the city once they are operating four hours away down on the south coast?


“Not true,” says


Nigel, pointing out that compliance offi- cers from Wolver- hampton regularly carry out checks in other local authority areas. He says they recently went out with police in


Southampton,


stopping Wolver- hampton licensed vehicles to make sure they were not breaking the law. “We will check on them to make sure they obey our rules. We go to other areas and ask them if they would like to run joint compliance exercises with us, he said. “Some of them say ‘no, you’ve caused the problem - you fix it’. It would be better if they worked with us instead of against us.” Wolverhampton’s training course con- tains no formal English test – anoth- er criticism levelled at the authority. In- stead drivers are


tested through an informal chat, fol- lowed by a series of job related questions posed by a training officer in private. Concerns have also been raised over a wider public safety issue, with the authority accused of failing to carry out stringent criminal records checks or checks to see if drivers have been banned elsewhere. “You have to be a fit and proper person to be a driver and there is an enhanced DBS check and checks to see if they have been licensed elsewhere,” said Nigel. “There is no central database to check whether drivers have been refused by other authorities – although there is talk of that happening and I think everyone would agree it is a good idea.” At the end of the session, six out of the original group of 14 –


43 per cent – have passed and will be licensed by the city as private


hire


drivers. Later that day in another ses- sion the pass rate was again 6/14. While Nigel argues that the pass rate is low, for other local authorities


it is


potentially 12 drivers that could have been licensed in their areas. And for Wolver- hampton drivers, it is 12 newbies who may be competing with them for custom. As far as Nigel is concerned, it is a simple case of sup- ply and demand, withWolverhampton better than others at responding to the 2015 law change. “Wolverhampton Council did not change the law, it changed with the law. We are provid- ing a


fantastic


service at a cheaper price. How is that wrong?”


WINCHESTER CIVIC CHIEFWRITES TOWOLVERHAMPTON CC


Winchester’s civic chief has written to Wol ve rhampton City Council (WCC) to express concerns over the number of Wolverhampton-reg- istered taxis oper- ating in the city. It


follows fears


expressed by drivers over the safety of non-Winchester reg- istered cabs, work being taken away from locals, and that fees were going to WCC rather than to Winchester. Colin Smith, a regis- tered HC driver, had told councillors ear- lier this year: “At the


moment there are 15 or more Wolver- hampton taxis work- ing in Winchester. Instead of applying to Winchester City Council they get a licence very easily at Wolverhampton.” Portfolio holder Jan Warwick


said:


“Winchester City Council’s licensing authority is unable to directly control the numbers of these ‘non’ Winch- ester licensed ve- hicles, under current national legislation.” Cllr Warwick added: “The leader haswrit- ten to Wolverhamp-


ton City Council, expressing Winch- ester’s concerns at their practice of licensing private hire operators across the country and its impact within Win- chester. “The city council would add its voice to that of various regulatory licensing authorities, most notably Transport for London, in seek- ing


legislative


change, and Steve Brine MP has also given a commitment to lobby ministers for the Department of Transport.”


AUGUST 2018


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