Opinion
A view from the trade by Bryan Roland - National Private Hire Association 0161 280 2800
www.npha.org.uk
npha@btconnect.com CAN I HAVE MY LICENCE PLEASE??? IT’S WYN MONATH...
The title of this article will need some explanation – not just the fact that the ancient Saxons’ name for October was Wyn Monath, but more to the point, what am I going to get for a licence?
I say this because as you will be aware, the Deregulation Act will bring in three-year licences for drivers and five-year licences for private hire operators from October 1st. In anticipation of this, we emailed all the local authorities in the country, asking them what they were proposing to charge for these licences.
Now this didn’t spring out of our heads as a Eureka moment; we’ve had to replace the telephone 14 times because it’s melted from people ringing us with questions about this. One of the first questions we took was from a council, whose officer said, “Do we have to do this?” For- tunately the Government had printed some explanatory notes which we were able to put in last month’s paper.
Although there were numbers of councils which already issue three- year driver licences, we weren’t able to determine the exact number. However, according to the Department for Transport statistics (about which see pages 73-77), 79 local authorities already license drivers every three years. So we weren’t surprised when numerous councils emailed us saying, “Er, what are those councils that already have three-year licences charge for them?”
There are no figures in the DfT stats about five-year operator licences, but twelve of the 90 councils that replied to our request for information already license operators for five years – so it is not a totally new event. There are precedents which have been set, and might help those councils to decide which way to go.
I have to say that it appears to you as you read this paper in Wyn Monath that the majority of councils just have not done anything yet. I’ve got some councils that have told the trade about rising licence fees, and have faced objections, and have put things off until the new year. There are a number of councils that have said to our survey that they now do a two- or three-year licence for operators and don’t intend to change. And some councils say regarding drivers’ badges that they do a two-year badge and don’t intend to change. Two councils say that if you want either a one, two or three-year badge – you can choose.
I am hoping that in reading this, you are as confused as everybody else is who has been on the phone, because it would appear that there are no magic wands out there as regards the periodicy of your licence. Either phone the council and find out what’s going to happen to you; or better still, wait until your licence needs renew- ing, by which time the council may have made up its mind.
But that isn’t the major concern, is it? The major concern is the cost, pure and simple. Let’s take drivers’ licence fees first: Again, different councils appear to have different rules as to the way they calculate the licence fees for drivers. And first, let me remind you that the council doesn’t have to advertise the changes in drivers’
fees. But as highlighted in numerous court cases over the years, section 53(2) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provi- sions) Act 1976 states: “A district council may demand and recover for the grant of a licence such fee as they consider rea- sonable with a view to recovering the costs of issue and administration....” which they think appropriate so to do. There is nowhere else in section 53 which allows the council to make any extra charges, such as for enforcement and supervision.
8
OCTOBER 2015
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
