GMB PERSPECTIVE
This supermarket has been open since the pandemic but someone in the council has considered that the public will sud- denly be fighting among themselves as to whom will be firstto getthe pack of streaky bacon and as a result this fight will topple over into the rank.
I have an image inmy head of duelling pensioners and shopping trolleys and the sight of pink long johns all bound up in a cloud of dust spilling into the road.
So I sent anemail direct to Head of Traffic Management and at the time of writing this there has been complete and utter silence.
However to give credit I did receive anoth- er email
from the Taxi Licensing
Department telling me that this was done under ‘Emergency Powers’ which we do not accept. If the rankwas to be temporar- ily suspended under such emergency powers because people will start to sud- denly fall over with their eight months supply of toilet rolls then that is fine.
However to effectively steal this rank from the trade under what can only be described as being via subterfuge and completely revoke the rank without any notification whatsoever treats the trade with a totallack of disrespect and with utter disdain!
I actually feellike breaking into the town hall and stealing the seats and desks of those involved in getting rid of this rank to see if they would like to be treated that way, although being a ‘Fit and Proper’ person I would never do that, as much as I really want to.
I have told the council that due to the way the trade has been treated that we will have no alternative but to go out and protest under:
‘TAXI RANKS MATTER!”
Whilst I am on the roll with Brighton & Hove Council, I recently made contact with regard to funding for screen parti- tions for the trade and quoting Leeds and Bradford who pulled the stops out and helped with funding for these. However even thoughI explained everything in clear detail I was twice referred to the council portal where businesses could apply for grants. Do you know sometimes Icould just scream and sometimes I actu- ally do when no one is around.
JULY 2020 The disappearing rank
It is so obvious that the council’s facility to apply for business grants had no rela- tion whatsoever to what I was asking for. For example the minimum grant was 2.5k and I was seeking to apply for about £200 for a screen to be funded for each proprietor. In fact 2.5k would fund 12 taxis/PHV’s. But no, Brighton & Hove council was not interested at all, so I say to the trades in Leeds and Bradford.. you lucky whatsits!
However... I have always had a policy of praise where praise is due and I am pleased to praise our Taxi Licensing Department for the outcome of a recent negotiation we have been involved in which will help a lot of our taxi/PHV pro- prietors with regards to easing conditions of licensing for vehicle age limits.
Currently these are set at 7/10/12 which means no vehicle may be older than seven years on first licensing, no vehicle older than ten years for the life of licens- ing, unless the vehicle is in exceptional condition where it can be kept for a fur- ther two years but has to undergo two compliance tests a year. Additionally replacement diesel vehicles must be Euro 6 compliant which effectively means in most cases no vehicle older than five years old would qualify.
Knowing that there are some very well maintained one-driver-only cabs on the B&H fleet and that the trade has faced a massive crisis during COVID-19 with most
of the fleet not having worked for about three months, which includes me, we pushed for a relaxation of the vehicle age limit rules.
I am very pleased to say that the council has agreed to extend a further year for any vehicle that has reached the maximum of twelve years old that needs to be replaced up to the date of March 31 2021. So well done the taxi licensing Department.
But it doesn’t stop there....
A couple of months ago we pushed for proprietors to be able to delay the licens- ing of their vehicles as most of the fleet was laid up and any of these thatwere due to be relicensed would really have been a bit pointless to do so. The council agreed that proprietors wishing to delay the reli- censing of their vehicles could do this but it would only apply up to the end of September 2020. However an application must still be made and the fee paid. This was not so important for PHV’s as these could be taken off and put back on when- ever desired but mainly for hackney carriages as the council has a limitation policy on numbers under ‘Managed Growth’whichmeans there is awaiting list.
However as the COVID-19 crisis does not have any magic date for trade in the city to get back to normal we pushed for a better deal and I am pleased to say that the council via the taxi licensing depart- ment has agreed to allow a delayed extension of six months for any propri- etor wishing to delay the relicensing of their hackney carriage that expires prior to September 30 2020. So again well done to the taxi licensing department.
..... actually I asked for a 12 month exten- sion... but sometimes you have to compromise!
Latest news right to the deadline!
Have just been contacted by B&H City Council regarding screen partitions and indeed other sanitation facilities, and have been told that they are going to be making a case to the govern- ment for funding for these.
Andy Peters Secretary GMB Brighton & Hove Taxi Section
andy.peters@
gmbtaxis.org.uk
77
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