ROUND THE COUNCILS CORNWALL:
STOP CHECKS BY POLICE: FIVE SUSPENDED
Five taxis were suspended from trading and one vehicle was even seized after police carried out spot checks in four towns across Cornwall in September. According to the Falmouth Packet, working alongside Cornwall Council’s taxi licensing officers, the Devon and Cornwall Roads Policing Team held a road safety operation that targeted taxis and PHVs. Taxi drivers in Truro, Falmouth, Camborne and Redruth were stopped – and while the “vast majority” were compliant with the regulations, a number of issues were found. This included ten vehicles with defects, five of which were so serious they were temporarily suspended from trading and two were prevented from driving altogether, while one vehicle was seized. Two drivers were also reported for offences at the wheel.
SEFTON: ONLINE LICENSING RENEWALS REMAINS
Sefton’s cabbies are being reminded that despite the relax- ation of some Covid-19 restrictions, vehicle licence renewals are still being processed through a simple e-mail service. The council aims for a turnaround of ten working days for the renewal of vehicle licences with a high proportion being processed more quickly. It asks that as much information regarding vehicle renewals is included within the subject line of the e-mail so workload can be prioritised. Driver licences continue to be considered for auto renewal for a period of six months. A number of licence holders will be invited in for interview if a new DBS check is required, immigration status check is required, a medical check is required or there are pending criminal matters. Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services said: “To ensure the safety of drivers and its own staff, the council has been carrying out online renewals rather than the drop-in system at Bootle One Stop Shop. “Owners can apply for renewal of their plate 28 days before their current one expires so there should be no reason why anyone should be without a plate.” To renew, all drivers need to do is email a copy of their Mechanical Fitness Test, which they get from one of the council’s authorised testing centres to:
taxiapplication@sefton.gov.uk. Their application needs to be accompanied by an image of their application form, their V5 Registration certificate and evidence of insurance.
60 TAMESIDE: NEW LICENSING STANDARDS APPROVED
The introduction of a set of common licensing standards for taxi/PH drivers across Greater Manchester – including a dress code and drug testing – will help put customers in ‘safe hands’, leaders say. According to the Manchester Evening News, Tameside’s executive cabinet has approved the first stage of the new Greater Manchester minimum licensing standards, which focuses on drivers, operators and local authorities. The standards – which are being jointly introduced across all of the region’s ten councils – have been in the pipeline since 2018 and are aimed at delivering improved safety, ‘customer focus’, higher environmental standards and accessibility. There are around 2,000 hackneys, 11,500 PHVs and over 18,600 drivers currently licensed across Greater Manchester. The more stringent rules around drivers for all vehicles will see DBS checks occur more frequently, as well as medical exami- nations for drivers, knowledge and English language tests. A dress code is also be introduced which would limit drivers to wearing ‘good condition’ clothes, and ban them from wearing sportswear, sandals, hoods and offensive slogans or graphics. It comes after licensing authorities received ‘numerous complaints’ each year about driver dress standards and personal hygiene. A policy around drug and alcohol testing is also being devel- oped to introduce testing for drivers based on complaints or intelligence received. Ian Saxon, director of neighbourhoods and operations, said: “This is there to promote public safety and that’s our role within the taxi licensing regime." Council leader Brenda Warrington told the meeting that they owed it to residents across Greater Manchester ‘to be able to know that when they get into a taxi they’re in safe hands’. “At the moment some of the drivers that we know are licensed outside of Greater Manchester from other authorities that just give away licences like toffees – it is a worry to us so I do hope and believe that this kind of arrangement across all ten of the districts in Greater Manchester will be a benefit,” she said. “We would hope this would drive out those drivers who are not up to the standard that we would require.” In the autumn a further report is to be published outlining the proposed standards for taxi vehicles.
OCTOBER 2021
The council then collects the fee from the driver over the telephone and the renewal certificate is sent to them. Cllr Lappin continued: “Inevitably taxi drivers in Sefton have had to get used to a change from the drop-in, face-to-face process they have been accustomed to but the vast majority of them have adapted and have been using the system without any problems.”
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