THE TASK AND TFG Recommendation 16 SG
The DfT must as a matter of urgency press ahead with consultation on a draft of its Statutory Guidance to local licensing authorities. The guidance must be explicit in its expectations of what licensing authorities should be doing to safeguard vulnerable passengers. The effectiveness of the guidance must be monitored in advance of legislation on national minimum standards. PHTM: This is what the consultation is all about; go online (
www.gov.uk/government/consultations/taxi-and-private-hire- vehicle-licensing-protecting-users) to respond before 22 April.
TFG Recommendation 17 SG
In the interests of passenger safety, particularly in the light of events in towns and cities such as Rochdale, Oxford, Newcastle and Rotherham, all licensed vehicles must be fitted with CCTV (visual and audio) subject to strict data protection measures. Licensing authorities must use their existing power to mandate this ahead of the requirement’s inclusion in national minimum standards. To support greater consistency in licensing, potentially reduce costs and assist greater out of area compliance, the Government must set out in guidance the standards and specifications of CCTV systems for use in taxis and PHVs. These must then be introduced on a mandatory basis as part of national minimum standards. PHTM: The Government’s response to this recommendation has been widely misinterpreted, incorrectly reported and totally exploited in media headlines. Yes, the Government is in favour of CCTV in licensed taxis and PHVs, for the same reasons we are: the safety of the people inside the vehicle, both the driver and passengers. That is not to say that headlines proclaiming “Mandatory CCTV in all taxis and minicabs” mean that it is a guaranteed cert; far from it. The draft SG document covers all the angles of the Government’s position on this issue, including their acknowledgment that “imposition of a blanket requirement to attach CCTV as a condition to a licence is likely to give rise to concerns about the proportionality of such an approach and will therefore require an appropriately strong justification and must be kept under regular review.” As far as PHTM is concerned, it’s a no-brainer; you’ve got to have CCTV – for the safety of both the driver and the passenger(s). We totally accept that there are chauffeur/executive firms – and indeed vehicles utilised by other transport providers - that are used by passengers who require total discretion and privacy. The Statutory Guidance acknowledges this fact and discusses the implications of selective (as opposed to 24/7) visual and sound recordings. Weighing up priorities, you have to consider which is more important to you and your passengers: privacy, or safety.
TFG Recommendation 20 SG
All drivers must be subject to enhanced DBS and barred lists checks. Licensing authorities should use their existing power to mandate this ahead of inclusion as part of national minimum standards. All licensing authorities must require drivers to subscribe to the DBS update service and DBS checks should be carried out at a minimum of every six months. Licensing authorities must use their existing power to mandate this ahead of inclusion as part of national standards. PHTM: Where have the national media been???!! Licence holders from all over the country have contacted us to say, “We’ve had to have DBS enhanced checks ever since I first started… what is this all about?!” Unfortunately so many press and broadcast media have got the wrong end of the stick here, headlining “Taxi and private hire
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FINISH GROUP’S RECOMME
drivers to face enhanced criminal record checks”. They don’t know that our trade has been subject to such checks for over 17 years. The misunderstanding relates to the barred lists. These lists document people whose past criminal activity includes sexual acts against children and/or vulnerable adults, thereby barring them from undertaking school or Social Services contracts. Currently 85 per cent of all local authorities in England and Wales include the barred list check with the enhanced DBS; the objective is to ensure the other 15 per cent do the same.
TFG Recommendation 21 SG
Government must issue guidance, as a matter of urgency, that clearly specifies convictions that it considers should be grounds for refusal or revocation of driver licences and the period for which these exclusions should apply. Licensing authorities must align their existing policies to this ahead of inclusion in national minimum standards. PHTM:We’ve been waiting for such guidance ever since the Home Office published their renowned Annex D in 1992.
TFG Recommendation 22 SG
The Quality Assurance Framework and Common Law Police Disclosure Provisions must be reviewed to ensure as much relevant information of behaviours and crimes by taxi and PHV drivers (and applicants) is disclosed and to ensure licensing authorities are informed immediately of any relevant incidents. PHTM: This is all about proper links between police forces and licensing authorities in providing a full profile of an applicant for a licence or renewal. Currently the disclosure by the local police force of “relevant information of behaviours and crimes” (known as Stage 4) is the biggest hold-up of the return of a DBS enhanced check; it would be amazing, and career-saving for many applicants, if this process could be speeded up.
TFG Recommendation 23 SG
All licensing authorities must use the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) register of drivers who have been refused or had revoked taxi or PHV driver licence. All refusals and revocations must be recorded, and the register checked for all licence applications and renewals. Licensing authorities must retain the reasons for any refusal, suspension or revocation and provide those to other authorities as appropriate. The Government must, as a matter of urgency, bring forward legislation to mandate this alongside a national licensing database. PHTM: This register is already in existence; it was established last year via the Local Government Association and is known as NR3. However, it is currently adoptive/voluntary and not all licensing authorities have opted in; Government is in full support of mandating the register, and also in support of Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner’s Private Member’s Bill (yes please! It was talked out; can it be resurrected?) which would mandate this recommendation.
TFG Recommendation 25 SG
Licensing authorities must use their existing powers to require all drivers to undertake safeguarding/child sexual abuse and exploitation awareness training. This should include the positive role that taxi/PHV drivers can play in spotting and reporting signs of abuse and neglect of vulnerable passengers. This requirement must form part of future national minimum standards.
MARCH 2019
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