ALL THINGS LICENSING
This test under Section 50 is separate to the MOT and is a demonstration that the vehicle continues to be suitable for licensing. Many councils require a test to be carried out at the time of application, and then at intervals during the licence period. Many Councils also issue a form or
to be attached to hackney carriage licences, and for the authority to prescribe hackney carriages to be of such design and appearance as may be required.
• For private hire vehicles; Section 48 LGMPAG 1976 requires the licensing authority to be satisfied a vehicle presented for licensing as a private hire vehicle is • suitable in type, size and design for use as a private hire vehicle;
• not of such design and appearance as to lead any person to believe that the vehicle is a hackney carriage;
• in a suitable mechanical condition; • safe; and • comfortable; And be able to attach conditions to the licence.
Therefore licensing authorities can set specifications for vehicle design which may be over and above or not assessed by a ‘standard’ MOT, so the authority will need some mechanism of vehicle inspection to ensure the vehicle is suitable to be licensed according to its criteria, as well as being mechanically safe.
TESTING AGAINST LICENCE CRITERIA
Moving onto the subject of vehicle testing by the licensing authority; Section 50 LGMPAG 1976 requires the proprietor of any hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licensed by a district council to present the vehicle for inspection and testing by or on behalf of the council within such period and at such place within the area of the council as they may by notice reasonably require; on no more than three separate occasions during any one period of twelve months.
This means that councils can ask for vehicles to be tested up to three times a year to ensure they remain in a suitable condition to be licensed. Tests can also be carried out by the council or on their behalf, for example if they do not have ‘in house’ testing facilities.
PHTM NOVEMBER 2023
record to the proprietor that the vehicle has passed the council inspection. This is not an MOT certificate, however it is often needed for the purposes of an application or for council records to demonstrate that the vehicle has been tested in accordance with the required criteria.
The point raised in the previous PHTM article on vehicle testing is how the MOT inspection criteria are different to a Section 50 test. The MOT test is conducted to a defined, national standard set by DVSA. The Section 50 test is conducted against the council’s local criteria and will likely include MOT items, but will also include Licensing Policy and Condition requirements, including livery, signage, meters and safety equipment which not specified by an MOT.
The inspection process for many councils deliberately seeks to embrace safety aspects of vehicle inspections using, as a basic inspection standard, those laid down in the MOT Inspection Manual – Private Passenger & Light Commercial Vehicle Testing, issued by the DVSA and in some cases using the Fleet Transport Association Best Practice Guide, which provides additional testing requirements to those in the MOT Inspection Manual.
It is also possible for councils to specify criteria higher than the MOT standard. For example in its Policy and Conditions a council may specify that vehicle tyres must have a minimum of 2mm tread, so whilst vehicle tyres with 1.6mm tread would pass an MOT as this is the national minimum, they would fail the council test. It is therefore important to be aware of any difference to local requirements as this can, and does, lead to confusion.
The purpose of the vehicle test is to confirm vehicles meet these more stringent standards for the carriage of passengers. The expectation is that vehicles must be submitted fully prepared for the test and the vehicle test is not intended to be used in lieu of a regular preventative maintenance programme.
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