SCOTTISH NEWS FROM THE SPHA LOCAL LICENSING (PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI) FORUMS
Article by Eddie Grice NPHTA Board Member for Scotland and General Secretary of the Scottish Private Hire Association
www.spha.scot
office@spha.scot
The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 sets out a framework for the regulation of liquor licensing in Scotland, and within the Act, Sections 10 to 12 relate to Local Licensing Forums. These legally mandated forums
provide a local voice for communities and stakeholders on issues of liquor licensing. Each of Scotland’s 32 councils must have such a Local Licensing Forum, which keeps under review the liquor licensing system and the related functions of their council’s Licensing Board.
The forums also give advice and make recommendations to the Licensing Board on such matters as they deem appropriate, however the forums cannot comment on individual licensing cases. The composition of Local Licensing Forums consists of a Licensing Standards Officer from the council, the area’s Police Chief Constable, persons having functions related to health, education or social work, a representative from the area’s Health Board, residents from the local area, young people from the local area, and licence holders. The forums meet regularly and the council’s Licensing Board is mandated to meet with the forum at least once per year. Additionally, the council is required to provide certain relevant statistical information to the forum upon request and a report from the Chief Constable on matters of policing in relation to licensing is also sent to the forum each year.
A similar statutory system does not exist for other areas of licensing though; in our case, for private hire and taxi licensing. However, at present, some councils do have what are known as stakeholder working groups, such as the ‘Taxi and Private Hire Trade Working Group’ in Glasgow and the ‘Hire Car Trade Working Group’ in Edinburgh. These are informal groups with no defined mission, and meetings of these groups are not required to be minuted. Indeed, until recently, in Glasgow, the meetings of their group were ad-hoc with
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no defined schedule. Some councils have what they call a “Taxi and Private Hire Forum”, which are very similar in design and function to the aforementioned working groups. One such council is West Dunbartonshire, for example. However, some council areas, such as East Renfrewshire, currently have no such arrangements at all. That council does not have a working group or a forum and, therefore, consultation with the trade on policy changes has been extremely lacking in recent years.
As said, there is nothing statutory or legally mandated with working groups or forums for the private and public hire trade. However, if policies resulting from full and meaningful engagement and consultation between councils and the trade are ever to be realised, and if an idealised adherence to the Scottish Regulators’ Code of Conduct is to be achieved and adhered to, then a similar local forum system for our trade, like the one mandated in the 2005 Act for the liquor trade must be established and legislated for.
Each council in Scotland should be required to establish a Local Licensing (Private Hire and Taxi) Forum to keep under review the systems for private hire and taxi licensing and the related regulatory functions of relevant council committees.
These forums should have similar functions to those of the existing liquor licensing forums, such as to give advice and make recommendations to the local licensing authorities on matters they think appropriate. Such forums should include transportation authorities, road safety groups, trade unions, professional trade associations, the local community and licence holders to ensure a diverse range of perspectives are considered.
This system would help to foster a positive and productive working relationship between the trade and their councils, as well as involving local communities in the process, and establishing such formal forums in Scottish licensing legislation would lead to more effective consultation, accountability, and ultimately would be of great benefit to the private hire and taxi trade in Scotland.
As a final point, the system could also allow for forums from different areas to meet with each other in assembly to engage on matters affecting multiple council areas.
MAY 2023 PHTM
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