The Law Commission is an independent body with a statutory remit to modernise and simplify the law. The Government has indicated that it wants the review to be underpinned by a deregulatory objective commen- surate with maintaining satisfactory levels of safety. Beyond that, the Law Commission has been charged with carrying out a root and branch review with a view to providing recommendations and drawing up a draft Bill.
Against that background, the Government is clear that this response should not fetter the discretion that has been given to the Law Commis- sion. Whilst it is entirely reasonable for the Government to give an indication of what it thinks of each of the Committee's recommendations, it must be stressed that in doing so, the Government is not intending to lead the Law Commission towards a particular conclusion or close off any particular avenue of consideration.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: In our view, the case for a thorough overhaul of the legislation relating to taxis and private hire vehicles is irresistible. (Para- graph 14)
DfT response: The Government agrees that there is a strong case for overhauling the legislation governing taxis and private hire vehicles. That is why the Government has asked the Law Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the legislation.
Recommendation 2: We recommend that, instead of referring reform of taxi and PHV legislation to the Law Commission, the Government should engage with the trade, local authorities and users about the objectives of future legislation on taxis and private hire vehicles and commit to overhaul that legislation during the course of this Parliament. Once these objectives are decided, the detailed work to frame legislation and guide it through Parliament should begin. This need not involve primary legislation: we consider that the swifter legislative reform order procedure could be used in this case. (Paragraph 15)
DfT response: The Government does not consider that referring the review of taxi and PHV legislation to the Law Commission is in any way inappro- priate. On the contrary, the Government considers that the Law Commission is the ideal body to undertake such a review. Its fundamental purpose is to review complex areas of law, it has experience and expertise in carrying out
this function and with its independent status comes an ability to assess the issues in an objective way. The Government is satisfied that the Law Com- mission will undertake an effective and productive review, the final report of which will be delivered during the lifetime of the current Parliament.
The Government is not inclined towards the legislative reform order route to establish a new legislative framework for taxis and PHVs. Whilst the Gov- ernment expects the draft Bill produced by the Law Commission to have a good degree of support, there will be substantive and controversial issues to be addressed and the Government considers that these would best be considered and debated during the passage of a Bill through Parliament
PRINCIPLES TO UNDERPIN NEW LEGISLATION
Recommendation 3: We recommend that, in developing proposals for changing the legislation applying to taxis and PHVs, the Government should commission authoritative research into consumers' opinions. Par- ticular attention should be paid to the views of vulnerable groups, such as disabled people, who are often most reliant on taxis and PHVs. (Paragraph 18)
DfT response: The Government accepts that seeking the views of users is a vital element of undertaking any reform of the taxi and PHV legislation. The Government does not, however, accept that a dedicated research project is needed. The Law Commission will engage with consumer organisations - in order to gain a full understanding of the views of every- one with a stake in this sector - as part of its review of the legislation.
Recommendation 4: We recommend that the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 should be replaced by a single Act or legislative reform order, covering both taxis and PHVs. (Paragraph 19)
DfT response: The Government notes this recommendation. Without wanting to preempt the Law Commissions review, it seems clear that a sensible and desirable outcome from the review would be a single Act of Parliament covering both taxis and private hire vehicles.
OPINION CONTINUED ON PAGE 48
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