COUNCIL CONTROVERSIES
GEDLING TAXI OPERATORS DONE OUT OF £150K AFTER COUNCIL OVERCHARGED FOR LICENCES
Gedling Borough Council must pay back £150,000 to operators in the area after an internal review followed by another independent review,
found it had been
overcharging for licences. The council was also found to have been undercharging for driver licences, effectively subsidising them more than £430,000. The Labour-run council argued the undercharge had been subsidised by
the authority itself, but members in the opposition stated operators themselves had been in fact subsidising by way of the overcharge.
Cllr Sam Smith (Con) said: “We need a better answer as to why this
has been allowed to happen over six years. It has taken a taxi driver, that we as an authority license, to bring this to our attention. That quite frankly is embarrassing. “You say we are going to refund operators? Is it a one-off payment over six years? Operators have come and gone, will every single one of them get a refund even if they have closed now or are no longer licensed by us?” Council officer Mike Hill, who was responsible for the internal report replied: “We have subsidised the taxi licensing service overall, so it is not as if we have deliberately set out to do this. It was an error, which we have admitted and are
endeavouring to put that right.” Conservative councillors in the opposition described the blunder as “embarrassing”. The council should have held separate accounts for drivers, vehicles and operators, however, during a Licensing Committee meeting on January 24, members were told that, historically, the council had not organised the accounts in this way. The matter was first brought to the council’s attention by
former
Gedling driver, Darren Hicklin who told PHTM: “It took a long time for this issue to be investigated and frankly the resolution so far is wholly inadequate.”
KIRKLEES CONTROVERSIAL FITNESS & SUITABILITY POLICY CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW
Kirklees Council’s “draconian” Fitness and Suitability Policy is currently under review as drivers call for change following a successful appeal. The policy left drivers fearing for their livelihoods as it could lead to licences being revoked if more than six penalty points are accumulated. Cabbies urged the council to review the policy when last October, a member of the West Yorkshire Drivers’ Association (WYDA) successfully appealed the council’s decision to revoke their licence in line with its F&S Policy. The driver won the case, had their licence
reinstated and was
awarded full costs of £1,800. Since then, the council has put the policy up for review, though Cllr Will
PHTM FEBRUARY 2023
Simpson (Lab) says this decision was unrelated to the case, and was decided in Autumn last year. Yasar Ahmed, from the WYDA, said: “In the recent few months before consultation on Kirklees Council’s F&S Policy, it was always met with reluctance to change and review the terms of the current draconian and unfair policy. “No other driver-led organisation is required to resign after acquiring six points on their licence or provide a “good conduct’ certificate from another country of destination if a driver has to travel there, in many cases sort to out bereavement services for relatives of drivers outside of the UK. “We are forced to take a stand and use our democratic right to urge
councils to retake a look at the policy as no other profession other than the Police, Prison Service or Armed Forces is required to take such stringent measures. We are working-class men and women just trying to make a living. We can't continue to be held to
such
inflexible guidance when no other driver profession is.” Cllr Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees said: “Results of the consultation will provide insight into public opinion on the proposed changes to the policy as well as giving respondents an opportunity to give their views. The consultation is live until 15 February here:
https://online1.snapsurveys.com/ki rklees-policy
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