ALL THINGS LICENSING
Article by Mike Smith, Senior Specialist for Licensing and Community Safety at Guildford Borough Council and Vice-Chair of the Institute of Licensing South East Region.
Please note that this article represents my own views which are not presented as the views of the Institute of Licensing or Guildford BC.
The Devolution Revolution
Firstly, a Happy New Year to members of the trade. If you were like me and wished that Santa would bring you some glimmer of hope of good news to do with taxi and private hire reforms then just before Christmas the announcement of the Devolution White Paper may have tantalised the beginnings of an answer.
The Devolution White Paper applies to England only and outlines the Government’s plans to transfer more powers and funding from central Govern- ment to local authorities across England. This is seen as important because it ensures that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect.
The White Paper sets out that the Government expects councils in all 21 two-tier areas (areas where there is both a county and district/borough council undertaking different tasks) to reorganise over this Parliament and the next. The Government intends reorganisation to happen in a phased approach, with the first new unitary councils expected before the end of this Parliament.
Ultimately, the aim of the White Paper is to ensure councils collaborate in the form of larger strategic authorities, in some areas governed by directly elected Mayors (although with the ambition that all areas will ultimately have an elected Mayor), to develop growth plans tailored to their regions, focusing on economic development, housing, transport and skills.
So, what does this mean for the taxi/PH trade? The White Paper includes reforms to local transport 60
and sets out potentially significant reforms to taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing as part of the broader strategy to reform the services provided by local authorities enabling them to deliver strategic benefits to their regions.
Rather than being tucked away, section 3.3 of the White Paper referencing Transport and Local Infrastructure specifically states:
“Taxis and private hire vehicles are an important part of our transport networks and some of the most vulnerable groups in our society rely on them. We recognise there are concerns about out-of-area working by private hire vehicles and are exploring how best to address these concerns. As part of this, we will consult on whether to make all Local Transport Authorities (including Strategic Authorities) responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.
“Administering taxi and private hire vehicle licensing across this larger footprint would increase the consistency of standards and enable more effective use of enforcement powers across a whole functional economic area. Greater economies of scale should also enable authorities to improve the efficiency of licensing, reducing the incentives for people to license out of their usual working area. This would be a significant change for the sector, and we will work with stakeholders to understand possible impacts before taking a final decision. In London, taxi and private hire vehicle licensing is already the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London.”
Essentially this is a revival of the previous Government’s proposals for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing to be removed from district councils in two-tier areas and reallocated to Local Transport Authorities.
There are many benefits to larger conurbations delivering licensing functions. In the absence of a national standard, the proposals aim to create a more consistent, efficient and enforceable frame- work for the sector by:
JANUARY 2025 PHTM
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