ALL THINGS LICENSING


NATIONAL REGISTER OF DRIVER REVOCATIONS & REFUSALS AND SURRENDERING DRIVER LICENCES


Article by Mike Smith, Senior Specialist for Licensing and Community Safety at Guildford Borough Council and Vice-Chair of the Institute of Licensing South East Region.


Please note that this article represents my own views which are not presented as the views of the Institute of Licensing or Guildford BC.


I have sat in a couple of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Sub-Committee Hearings this year where drivers have mentioned that they do not wish to have an application refused or licence revoked as this would bar them from being licensed elsewhere.


This is not the correct position and in this month’s article I thought I would explore the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals, and what this means for the licensed trade.


Licensing authorities are tasked with safeguarding communities by ensuring licensed taxi and private hire drivers are assessed to be fit and proper. This duty is underpinned by the legislation and statutory guidance shared by the Department for Transport.


THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF TAXI & PRIVATE HIRE LICENCE REVOCATIONS AND REFUSALS (NR3)


The National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals (NR3) is a register launched by the Local Government Association (LGA) working with the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN). It allows councils to record details where a taxi or private hire driver licence has been suspended, refused or revoked.


This helps local authorities check both new applicants and renewal applications against the register to prevent individuals from obtaining a new licence elsewhere after having had an application


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refused or having faced licensing sanction, and is key in supporting licensing authorities to carry out robust due diligence and informed decision-making.


Whilst the majority of licence holders operate to a high standard and will not face a decision to refuse, suspend or revoke during their career; unfortunately there have been a number of examples across the country of drivers who have faced licence sanction in one area and gone on to apply in another area, not disclosing that they


have been subject of


enforcement. This naturally undermines public safety and confidence in the licensing regime if a driver is able to ‘hop’ between areas and continue to act in an unsuitable manner towards the public.


Ultimately, prior to the register, the licensing process relied heavily on the DBS and an applicant’s honesty, both of which have some fragility. The DBS only records an individual’s convictions or ‘relevant’ information from the police. If a driver has been the subject of a complaint to the licensing authority which leads to licensing sanction but not conviction then there would be no records of this on the DBS.


This would then potentially allow an unscrupulous applicant to go to another authority, make a false declaration that they have never been licensed elsewhere, meaning the authority would have no reason to make further enquiries and then be granted a licence on this basis.


The National Register now prevents this by having one central location where records of sanctions against individuals are now recorded. The register was initially created in 2018, however its use was initially voluntarily and uptake and use by councils was mixed, resulting in the same potential for discrepancy.


However, following the provisions in the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety)


NOVEMBER 2024 PHTM


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