TAXI LAW EXPLAINED
standing of the duties on them to report changes to their circumstances within the required timeframes. Whilst here I will focus on those prescribed in law, licence holders should also be aware that local licensing policies will set additional requirements and it is equally important to comply with these.
1. Transfer of hackney carriages and pri- vate hire vehicles: The proprietor of a licensed vehicle must notify their licens- ing authority in writing and within 14 days of a transfer of ownership. Failure to do so in an offence. (S.49 Local Gov- ernment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976)
2. Convictions, cautions, arrests etc.: Most licensing authorities will have a require- ment in place for licence holders to immediately notify them of any convic- tions, cautions, arrests, criminal investigations or driving points. This will be a local policy requirement.
3. Change of name and/or contact details: Similarly, most licensing authorities will have a requirement for licence holders to formally notify them of a change of name or address. This too will be a local policy requirement.
4. Complaints: It is also common for licensed private hire operators to have a requirement placed on them to notify a licensing authority of any complaints they have received in relation to licensed drivers employed by them or complaints made about the licensed operator.
The list above is not exhaustive and local licensing policy will vary around the coun- try. It is important that hackney carriage and private hire licence holders read and understand local licensing policy in respect of duty to report change of circumstances. Ignorance is generally not a defence that can be relied upon.
EQUALITY DUTIES
The Equality Act 2010 places a whole range of statutory duties on licence holders.
Under sections 168 and 170 of the 2010 Act, all hackney carriage and private hire licence holders have a duty to carry assis- tance dogs unless they have been issued with an exemption certificate.
In addition, many licensing authorities maintain lists of “designated” hackney car-
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3. The ICO has previously stated that CCTV systems that continuously record are likely to fall foul of data protection law and should be avoided.
ENFORCEMENT AND SANCTIONS
Whilst there is strictly speaking no statu- tory obligation on licensing authorities to enforce, clearly no licensing regime is worth any value without enforcement.
riages. Any such hackney carriage desig- nated by virtue of section 167 of the 2010 Act, carries the following additional duties under section 165:
a) to carry the passenger while in the wheelchair;
b) not to make any additional charge for doing so;
c) if the passenger chooses to sit in a pas- senger seat, to carry the wheelchair;
d) to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and reasonable comfort;
e) to give the passenger such mobility assistance as is reasonably required.
Similar to the requirement to carry assis- tance dogs, failure to comply with the duties under section 165 constitutes a criminal offence.
CCTV IN LICENSED VEHICLES RIGHTS OF APPEAL
There is an increasing number of both licence holders and licensing authorities that are insisting on CCTV in licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehi- cles. CCTV can warrant an entire article in itself; however, I wanted to focus on a cou- ple of important points regarding the statutory duties placed on licence holders with relating to CCTV in their licensed vehicles.
1. If a licence holder has taken a decision to install a CCTV system in their licensed vehicle(s), it is highly likely that the licence holder should register them- selves with
the Information
Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) as a data controller.
2. Where the requirement has been placed on licence holders by, for exam- ple a licensing authority, the res- ponsibility to register with the ICO falls with the licensing authority.
The penalties for breaches of the various statutory duties discussed in this article are dealt with by way of criminal law. The significance of this is that hackney car- riage and private hire licence holders convicted of any of the offences discussed in this article could additionally face losing their licence.
As is normally the case, with a decision by a licensing authority to refuse, revoke or suspend a hackney carriage or private hire licence, there is a right of appeal. As I mentioned at the start of this article, Taxi Defence Barristers is often contacted by licence holders who face legal difficul- ties with their licences following the conclusion of criminal proceedings against them.
If you are in this situation, please feel free to contact Taxi Defence Barristers for an initial free case conference.
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It is a mixed picture across the country with regard to enforcement. It is fair to say that with budget cuts and austerity, proactive enforcement is becoming increasingly rare.
Licence holders should however not become complacent. As I mentioned in my introduction, Taxi Defence Barristers is often contacted by licence holders who have had their licences revoked or sus- pended for breaches of their statutory duties.
Since a breach of these statutory obliga- tions can carry a criminal conviction, the licensing consequences can be severe and whilst it may be arguable that a revocation does not necessarily follow, this in itself can be stressful and costly for licence holders.
Any licence holder who is facing difficul- ties with their hackney carriage or private hire licence can contact Taxi Defence Bar- risters for advice and representation.
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