NEW GOVERNMENT -
Article by Dave Lawrie Director NPHTA 0161 280 2800
info@nphta.co.uk
On the lead up to the elections, we heard lots of promises from various Labour candidates about how they would “ban cross-border working,” the question is though, was this just campaigning to gain votes, or will they make change happen?
Many people have had various meetings and discussions for months leading up to the general elections with various assurances being made including the quote here:
“Mr Burnham, speaking on his regular BBC Radio Manchester ‘in the hot seat’ phone in, also said he had verbal confirmation from Louise Haigh, shadow transport minister, that the practice would be stopped.”
“Out of area working is where taxi drivers register with one local authority but ply their trade in another part of the country. Many minicabs seen on Greater Manchester roads are registered in Sefton or Wolverhampton.”
Although we all know that the term “minicab” is the London term used for a private hire vehicle, and that private hire are not “taxi drivers,” the point remains that the subject of cross-border working is a hot topic throughout the nation.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Many suggest that it is as a direct result of the Deregulation Act 2015 which allows drivers to work anywhere. But it isn’t; this act made two changes: 1) to regulate the duration of licences, one year for plates, three years for badges, and five years for operators. This was reinforced within the government Best Practice Guidance 2023, which stated that: “a probationary licence should not be considered” 2) it made it lawful for an operator in one region, to “subcontract” a booking to an operator in another region.
At no point did this act allow for PH drivers to pass work to each other; nor did it allow for an operator licensed by one region, to pass work to drivers and vehicles licensed by another region which is what we are seeing, even to the point of drivers and vehicles attending the operator’s premises that are not within the licensed region.
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We see Wolverhampton vehicles and drivers attending the Birmingham offices, Manchester offices and various other operator bases outside of Wolver- hampton to register with that operator.
This is a direct breach of the triple lock rule. We have even seen drivers attend with the application forms completed, with the operator consent or confirmation form having been filled in and signed in a Manchester office, whilst the form actually showed having been completed in their office in an entirely different region - this is potentially fraudulent activity.
WHAT IS THE TRIPLE LOCK RULE?
The triple lock rule is very clear and simple, it dictates that all three licences, (the driver, the vehicle and the operator) MUST have been issued by the same licensing authority (council).
It goes a little further by stating that:
“a private hire driver may only accept bookings from a private hire operator that is subject to a licence issued by the same authority” and
“a private hire operator may only make use of drivers and vehicles that are subject to a licence issued by the same authority”.
So how can it be that an operator premises in one region can have vehicles and drivers on its records that are not licensed by the same authority? Or more importantly, why is this not being enforced against? Although it must be pointed out here that we are aware that some local authorities do enforce this condition against some of the smaller operators.
THE KING’S SPEECH
We watched with anticipation on 17th July to see the list of bills below: FULL BILLS Economic Stability and Growth:
Budget Responsibility Bill National Wealth Fund Bill Pension Schemes Bill Planning and Infrastructure Bill Employment Rights Bill English Devolution Bill Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill Better Buses Bill Railways Bill
AUGUST 2024 PHTM
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