REDCAR AND CLEVELAND: COUNCIL SIGN UP TO NR3 REGISTER


Redcar and Cleve- land Council’s Reg- ulatory Committee approved a draft policy that will see the council sign up to a new National Register for Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations (NR3). At present, councils rely on hackney car- riage and private hire drivers being honest about any previous


revoked


licences or applica- tion refusals. Ac- cording to the Teesside Gazette, a committee report said this had led to cases in which pre- viously banned dri- vers had been granted licences


new despite


previous bans. The National Register will allow councils to find out if a driv- er has ever been banned or refused a licence in another part of the country. Cllr Brenda Forster, Labour councillor for


Kirkleatham,


said the lack of information about drivers’


histories


had proved to be a problem for coun- cillors trying to reach a decision about an applica- tion. Cllr Michael Dick, said: "The first thing I want to do is express a comment that I'm so sur- prised it's taken us until 2018 to consid- er sharing infor- mation with other authorities about taxi drivers. That's no particular criti- cism of the officers


32


as much as to wel- come how overdue this is. So I'm very grateful.” The committee un- animously approved the draft policy. The committee report said:


“Currently,


local authorities rely on the applicant disclosing informa- tion about previous revocations


or


refusals. There is no way for the local authority to find out this information. “This means that vital


ROUND THE COUNCILS... MORAY:


CALLS TO MOVE TAXIS OFF ELGIN HIGH STREET


an application for one refused. “This will prevent such drivers from going to another authority to dishon- estly


secure a information


about an applicant’s past behaviour is being missed. “Adopting the nat- ional register will promote


public


safety by ensuring that


authorities


have as much rele- vant information as possible to assist in the determination of the applicant’s fit and proper status.” Once adopted, as of January 1 this year, new and renewal applications


for


driver licences will be checked against the register. Where an existing licence is revoked or an application


is


refused, this will be recorded on the register along with historic data from the last six years. The report contin- ued:


“The pur-


pose of the register is to provide a mechanism for licensing authorities to share information about


hire


licence by failing to disclose their previ- ous licensing his- tory.” Mmmm… You will know by now that every local authority has the choice to ‘opt in’ to the NR3 register; it is entirely voluntary. Accord- ing to the LGA website, “The LGA commissioned the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) to develop and host the register. NAFN is a shared service, hosted by Tameside Council, which sup- ports public auth- orities to tackle fraud and share intelligence. NAFN has worked with the LGA and a user group comprised of licensing officers from a number of local authorities to develop the regis- ter. “To access the reg- ister authorities are required to be members of NAFN; around 90 per cent of local authorities are already mem- bers and will be able to access the register at no addi- tional cost. For n o n -memb e r s , membership


of individuals


who have had a hackney carriage or a private


licence revoked or


NAFN costs £1,050 per year and our understanding is that this would be a legitimate cost to be included in the licensing


Mmmm again… - Ed.


Drivers have called for a rank in Moray town centre to be moved to free up spaces. According to the Press and Jour- nal, the rank on North Street was moved to High Street a decade ago to allow disabled passengers easier access to shops. Last month the council confirmed


proposals to increase the amount of blue badge parking in the town centre prompt- ing calls to move the rank. The committee ag- reed to revisit the issue in two years once North Street is available again fol- lowing repairs to the Poundland building. Mmmm… So the trade has to wait two


years before they learn their fate – which is suffered by so many around the country, where taxi ranks are taken over for Blue Badge hold- ers. As the council’s transport manager points out, many dis- abled passengers are also regular users of cabs. Any unmet sur- veys done lately? – Ed.


NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: DRIVERS FEAR ‘CONGESTION CHARGE’


Newcastle Council


City is being


forced to consider ways of cutting pol- lution. But


taxi


drivers have re- ceived letters warn- ing they may face a daily


‘congestion


charge’ if their vehi- cle isn’t eco-friendly. Other cities have proposed charging up to £12.50 a day to drive in pollution hotspots and drivers fear any charge would hit an already struggling trade. “Once again New- castle City Council is shafting private hire and hackney drivers, forcing us to replace our vehicles at our own cost or pay a massive daily charge,” Noda’s Gareth Hors- ley told Newcastle- Live. A council letter seen by ChronicleLive states the council has


“not deter- fee.”


mined” if a charge is actually needed - or how much it would be. A 2019 consulta- tion is planned to


gather proposals on how to improve air quality. Diesel cars regis- tered before Sep- tember 2015, and petrol vehicles which pre-date


2006


could be subject to a charge, under the concept. The letter does state however


that:


“Charging clean air zones target only the most polluting vehicles.” Taxi driver Daz Proc- tor told Chronicle- Live: “The council has spent several years making con- gestion on our city’s roads worse. Reduc- ing road space by building new cycle lanes and bus only lanes,


replacing


roundabouts with traffic lights as well as traffic calming measures through- out the whole of Newcastle has made commuting at peak times and weekends virtually impossible. “The council remov- ing the locality test


and handing out taxi licences irresponsi- bly has led to a huge increase in PHVs in the city. Councillors now want residents and taxi drivers to pay for their mis- takes.” Mmmm…


There


mustn’t be a town planner in the entire country who had the foresight to plan the road layouts in their city/town to accom- modate the fresh air problems we’re all suffering with these days. All those aes- thetically pleasing pedestrianised areas, cycle lanes, one-way systems, bus lanes blocked off


to


licensed vehicles… The driver is so very spot-on with his com- ments in this article, pointing out that (a) these things have added dramatically to our cities’ pollution and congestion prob- lems, and (b) taxis and PHVs are sitting targets for a “fresh air tax”. Join the club, Newcastle… - Ed.


JANUARY 2019


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