IoL - ALL THINGS LICENSING


Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill - there is an awful lot happening in the world of taxi and private hire.


The aim of the IoL is to build ‘professionalism through knowledge’ and as such, as a member of the IoL there really is no better way, and with membership starting at £50 from 1 October, no better value way, to stay ‘in the know’ and gain key knowledge and understanding about issues affecting the trade.


By being able to offer a contribution at the Expo and PHTM from the perspective of a local authority licensing officer, I hoped to increase the understanding amongst the trade as to how decisions are arrived at. There is perhaps a certain degree of at best ‘eye rolling’ and at worst ‘mistrust’ between Licensing Authorities and the trade about what each other is doing on occasions. This however doesn’t need to be the case and I hope that this article and future contributions are able to bring all sides together to work towards the common goal of improving standards.


For example, local councils are normally bad at selling themselves. In the case of the taxi trade, the reason for licensing policy decisions is often buried deep in a Committee report and not communicated in a way where the benefits are outlined to the people who are affected by the decision. For example, recent policies concerning driver training are perhaps seen by drivers as additional expense, time off the road to attend classes, extra responsibility placed upon them, and perhaps ultimately the loss of livelihood if not completed as mandated.


It doesn’t have to be this way. If the benefits of OCTOBER 2021


training were perhaps ‘sold’ to drivers, such as increased knowledge and confidence to carry out the role to the benefit of all customers, awareness of emerging issues such as safeguarding and increased customer safety, all from the knowledge gained through training.


For example rather than drivers being mandated to attend Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training, the very notion of which may have some parents unwilling to let their offspring ever travel by taxi, instead describe the training as ‘Safeguarding Awareness’ training and link it to issues which are actually going on in the locality. Many drivers I have spoken to simply do not believe that CSE takes place in leafy affluent Surrey. However there are a number of examples where it does, and opportunities for drivers to be aware of the signs and how to report concerns, not simply for the reason of having to attend mandatory training, but as the right thing to do.


With this sort of engagement with the trade, hopefully, there will be a better level of understanding on all sides.


QUESTIONS FROM THE TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE TRADE


As a licensing officer, I regularly get asked questions from the trade and therefore I was not out of my com- fort zone whilst at the Expo speaking with a number of members of the trade from across the country about licensing issues affecting them. I find it helpful to use questions from the trade as a gauge as to how well issues are understood, and I very much hope to be able to offer a contribution from this aspect in future editions of PHTM.


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