FARES AND FEES
FEARS FOR FUTURE OF WREXHAM TAXI FIRMS OVER LICENCE COSTS
Proposed changes to taxi licence fees could spell the end for some firms and put new drivers off the job, Mark Coates, director of Wrexham and Prestige Taxis has warned. Currently new PH drivers pay £99 for a licence or to renew it, with £44 of the total covering the need for a DBS check.
Mr Coates said: “A new application is going to cost £180 for the licence alone and £44 for the CRB. It’s a 125 per cent increase. “People are not going to pay these prices. The three-year price has gone down but people won’t pay for that when they don’t
know if they will stick it out long-term. “Drivers are up in arms about the whole thing.”
Cllr David Kelly, plan- ning and public protection lead mem- ber, said the pro- posed new measures were as a result of the government introduc- ing the Deregulation Act 2015. The Act requires HC and PH drivers’ licences to be issued for three years and private hire operator licences for five years.
Licences can be granted for less than these time periods but only in the cir- cumstances of an individual case, not due to a blanket poli- cy.
Cllr Kelly said: “The changes brought about by the Act have necessitated the council undertaking a review of the licence fees. The process was assisted by the use of the All Wales Licens- ing Technical Panel’s Licence Fees Toolkit and is recognised as a good practice ap- proach to the setting of licence fees.
“PH and HC drivers and operators have been contacted re- garding the changes and have been invit- ed to respond in writing.”
The changes were due to be discussed by the council’s envi- ronmental licensing committee on Mon- day, September 28.
CHANGES TO MATLOCK LICENSING FEES
Derbyshire Dales Dis- trict Council has informed taxi drivers and vehicle operators that new charges will come into force on
October 1. According to the Mat- lock Mercury, driver licences will change from an annual £58 fee to £160 every
three years, meaning a saving of about £5 for drivers. But oper- ator application fees have risen, from £242 to £400.
BASILDON CAB LICENCE COSTS RISING
Basildon Council has brought in new charges for private hire operators’ li- cences. According to the
Basildon Echo, start- ing last month, operators with a sin- gle vehicle will be charged £100 a year. Operators with
between two and ten vehicles will pay £250, while opera- tors with more than 11 vehicles will pay £500.
CHEAPER FOR BRAINTREE CABBIES
Taxi driver costs in the Braintree district is set to fall. The Gazette reports that a hackney car- riage or private hire licence is £92 for one
year, but new legisla- tion means the council now has to offer three-year enti- tlement. From October 1, this will cost £263, mean-
ing an overall saving of £13.
Drivers can still apply for a one-year licence on a pro-rata basis, with special circumstances.
OMBUDSMAN COMPLAINT BRINGS TRANPARENCY TO MIDDLESBROUGH FEES
A complaint by Boro Taxis to the Local Government Om- budsman has led to a proposed overhaul of Middlesbrough Coun- cil’s taxi licensing fees.
Middlesbr ough Council was ordered by the Ombudsman to apologise to Boro Taxis for failures in the way it had admin- istered taxi licensing functions. A report was to be presented to a meet- ing of the council on September 16 that recommends a new fee structure. The report to the Council says that under the proposals vehicle licences will reduce by an average of 45 per cent and 37
58
per cent for new applications and renewals.
Drivers’ fees will rise by £149 to £204 for new applicants annu- al licence, and £57 to £112 for an annual renewal.
Full vehicle re-tests will rise by £19.50 to £68.
The proposed reduc- tions comprise: • New hackney car- riage vehicle li- cence - down to £279 from £495
• Hackney carriage vehicle renewal - down to £297 from £455
• New private hire vehicle licence - down to £270 from £513
• Private hire vehicle renewal - down to
£288 from £479.50 Christine Bell, Boro Taxis’ Company Sec- retary, who lodged the complaint with Dr Jane Martin, the Local Government Ombudsman, said: “I am pleased to see that Middlesbrough Council is finally tak- ing action following Dr Martin’s ruling last year.
“While the proposed restructure is a mixed blessing for the industry with fees going up as well as down, the important point is that the Council is for the first time formulating a transparent frame- work. “I strongly believe that local authorities have a duty to oper-
ate in an open and accountable way and the recommenda- tions, which are going before the Council, further vindi- cate my stance in taking my complaint to the Local Govern- ment Ombudsman.” Ms Bell added: “Boro Taxis will fully partici- pate in the con- sultation process. One increase pro- posed that will concern the entire trade is the rise in the fee for vehicle tests, which currently are carried out in-house by the Council.
“The latest informa- tion available to me shows that the test station charges the licensing depart- ment £35 per test,
yet the Council is proposing to recharge this out at £68, an almost 100 per cent profit for the Council, with the trade having no choice where vehi- cles are inspected. “There are savings of up to 308 per cent for operator licences when comparing the current annual fee of £435 to the new five- year licence option of £670. “Drivers also now will be able to opt for a new three-year driver licence, which will be much more cost-effective when compared to the new annual licence fee pro- posed. The Council previously refused
to consider issuing three-year driver licences.”
Following a Freedom of Information re- quest, Ms Bell discovered that the Council could not demonstrate how it calculated its taxi licensing fees because they were based on historic data that the Council no longer held. Ms Bell was forced to bring in the Local Government Om- budsman after Mid- dlesbrough Council stated that the ‘fees cannot be deemed excessive’ with ‘no further action required’ when she approached the Council about her complaints.
OCTOBER 2015
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