ROUND THE COUNCILS ISLE OF WIGHT: CABBIES TO USE DBS UPDATE SERVICE
Isle of Wight taxi drivers have to sign up for more frequent criminal record checks - and there is a crackdown on those who have not yet done so. Under a new requirement, all existing and new drivers have to sign up to the DBS Update Service. This means the council’s licensing service must undertake at least twice-yearly checks to ensure its records are up to date. Several drivers have yet to sign up for the service, the council said, and it is undertaking enforcement action to ensure that they do. If the drivers do not sign up, they risk having their taxi licences suspended. The council has said it is regularly reviewing progress as drivers sign up. As part of the conditions of holding a hackney carriage licence, drivers are required to inform the council within seven days if they have any conviction or caution imposed on them during their licence period. All licensed taxi drivers do have a current DBS certificate, the council has confirmed.
EAST LOTHIAN: VEHICLE AGE LIMIT CHANGES
Taxi fares in East Lothian will be increased by 20 per cent from February 1 next year after a proposal for the increase was approved unanimously by members of the council’s licensing board. This will be the first rise in the cost of fares since 2019. At a meeting of the licensing committee on 9 November, members reviewed letters of support for the increase. Cllr Colin McGinn, chair of the meeting, said: “I am pleased that we have had feedback from the consultation sent out to our taxi owners. “It’s something that we’ve asked for time and time again and there has been a lack of responses on a number of papers. I would welcome more [responses] because we do need to consult.” Cllr Jeremy Findlay questioned why there had been little response to previous consultations. He said: “The 20 per cent increase is quite large. If taxi firms had come back to us in the past, then increases could have been staggered. The onus is on the taxi operators to respond to these consultations.”
PHTM DECEMBER 2023
Councillors also agreed unanimously to update the conditions relating to taxi and private hire operators’ licences. The updates will mean zero emission vehicles presented for grant of a new licence will be no more than four years’ old (since date of first registration) on the date when the licence is granted, while internal combustion engine vehicles presented for grant of a new licence will be no more than three years’ old. The updates will also mean that substitution or temporary vehicles will be no more than seven years old (since date of first registration) on the date when the substitution on the licence takes effect and will not be older than the vehicle to be replaced. The updates came into effect from 9 November. It was also approved that the maximum age of a taxi permitted to be used will be 12 years. This will come into effect in April 2025.
WALSALL: CONSULTATION ON LICENSING POLICY
A consultation has begun on the current hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy by Walsall Council. The consultation started on November 16 and will end at midnight on Tuesday, December 28. The council has adopted the government’s statutory guidance and made some minor changes to the existing hackney carriage and private hire licence conditions. The licensing policy is to ensure that the travelling public within Walsall can be confident that the drivers licensed by the council are suitable for this role and that the standards applied are current and consistent. Cllr Garry Perry, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resilient Communities, said: “We want to make sure that the people who are licensed to drive taxis and private hire vehicles in Walsall are fit and proper to do so.
"This policy will help us to achieve that by providing clear guidance on the criteria that we will consider when making licensing decisions. “I would encourage all interested parties to take part in this consultation and share their views.” To take part in the consultation, go to the Walsall Council website at
shorturl.at/jtDF4 For further enquiries about the consultation, send an email to
TPHC@walsall.gov.uk or visit
shorturl.at/loFRS
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