NATIONAL STANDARDS
private hire for the whole of England and Wales. Every other authority (“local” local authorities”) would cease issuing private hire operator, vehicle and driver licences. All those licences would be issued by the Principal Authority. That would maintain the Trinity of Licences, but also instantly introduce national standards. They will be national because there would only be one standard, because there would only be one authority issuing licences.
The remaining “local” local authorities would act as agents for the Principal Authority in relation to verifying documents and identities, and also vehicle testing. Their staff would be placed at the disposal of the Principal Authority to enable enforcement to take place.
“Local” local authorities would still license hackney carriage vehicles and drivers, because hackney carriages can only stand or ply for hire within their district (this proposal does not address the issue of remote use of hackney carriages for pre-booked work, although it is not clear how much of an issue beyond neighbouring districts that is).
There would be no requirement for any reduction in staff within “local” local authorities, as all activity would continue, but on behalf of the Principal Authority. Those costs would be recharged to the Principal Authority, which would receive the licensing fees. The Principal Authority would need to increase staff, again, funded by the licence fees which would lead to a significant increase in secure jobs within that authority. All this at no cost to the taxpayer.
The benefits of this proposal are clear:
• National standards introduced quickly, without any need for legislation or government action.
• A likely reduction in licence fees due to economies of scale achieved by the Principal Authority.
• An increase in employment in the area of the Principal Authority.
This requires cooperation between local authorities. It will require compromises on the part of local authorities: the Principal Authority may not have the highest absolute standards, but as long as it has good standards, other authorities may have to accept that for the benefits this system will provide.
Other authorities with much lower standards should recognise the public safety advantages of such a proposal. Although this may well be difficult to achieve, there is no reason why that could not occur if there is the political will to achieve that. The question is whether the problems caused by cross-border activity are sufficient to outweigh the reluctance of local authorities to cooperate with one another. If local government is not prepared to grasp this nettle to address what is regarded as a significant threat to public safety, then perhaps it will only have itself to blame when no changes are forthcoming for the foreseeable future.
The details of the mechanism by which this can be achieved are outlined in an article “National conditions for private hire licences” in the March 2024 edition of the JoL (available at:
www.institute
oflicensing.org/resources/journal-of-licensing/)
Come and see James Button at PHTM EXPO • panellist: Q&A Legislation seminar - 2.00pm Wed 15 May
• presenting: National Standards? Easy! seminar - 2.45pm Wed 15 May
www.phtm.co.uk/register
PHTM MAY 2024 25
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