..IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS
MILTON KEYNES RESIDENTS ASKED NOT TO BOOK TAXIS IF THE DRIVERS ARE LICENSED IN AYLESBURY
Residents in Milton Keynes (MK) have been urged to insist on using taxi drivers who are licensed in the city to stop an influx of PHVs from across the border in Aylesbury Vale. Councillors want to see action taken to stop so many drivers coming ac- ross the border who then go on to illegal- ly ply for trade, who do not know the roads, whose vehi- cles need repairs, and who can barely speak English. Cllr Vanessa McPake told a recent full council meeting that the “standards of licensing are lower
in Aylesbury”. Cllr Catriona Morris, who chairs
the
Licensing Commit- tee, said the issue is “the bane of our lives” but that the vehicles are ‘legally allowed to come here’. She revealed that three Buckingham- shire MPs, and one from MK, have writ- ten to Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC),
to talk
about concerns and their policies and procedures. Cllr Morris revealed that the council has two enforcement officers on almost permanent duty at Station Square.
She said: “They get upset when you say to them that they have to go to Ayles- bury to have their vehicles
tested.
Most of them have never been to Ayles- bury, despite the fact that’s where there licence is. The numbers are grow- ing dramatically.” Cllr Morris suggest- ed one way of putting pressure on the companies that use drivers from outside the city is for
residents to
book cabs that are licensed in MK. She said: “If we can urge our residents in MK when they book taxis to ask for a
licensed MK one then companies will notice that nobody wants an Aylesbury one and they will say that they will start
employing
more MK drivers.” AVDC says it has been in regular con- tact with officers in MK concerning the licensing of
taxi
drivers and vehicles. Peter Brown, the AVDC regulatory services manager, said: “We acknowl- edge that many local authorities are frustrated by the consequences of the Deregulation Act, and that this has reduced licensing revenue for some
authorities and in- creased it for others. “It should be noted that the Deregula- tion Act was specifically intended to promote compe- tition, and the vast majority of those drivers licensed by AVDC, but operat- ing in MK are doing so lawfully. “AVDC has an excel- lent track record of enforcing breaches of licensing stan- dards through the courts and we con- tinue to undertake joint enforcement activity with MK Council, which is supplemented by joint enforcement protocols.”
Mmmm… This sce- nario is the bane of our industry nation- wide, which is why we need uniform national standards and reciprocal en- forcement powers across all borders. MK is one of the strongest councils in the field of enforce- ment, and yet they’re struggling to keep on top of the cross-bor- der nightmare. Yes – under existing legis- lation AV licence holders should have their vehicles tested in Aylesbury. AVDC defend the “en- hancements to their licensing regime” – but what about the illegal blaggers? – Ed.
MAY 2019
37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
