LICENCE SHOPPING: LICENCE SHOPPING: TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY
Article written by Adam Ward Principal Licensing Officer, Hertsmere BC Adam has been a licensing officer for 15 years - to be clear ‘the views expressed are his own and do not represent those of the authority he currently works for.’
Last month’s article, by David Lawrie, on “Licence shopping” highlighted that the concerns of some local authorities are not well understood. “Licence Shopping” is where those working in one local authority area seek to avoid any local requirements by obtaining a licence with another authority.
As David said in last month’s article, it is human nature for people to search for the best deal and I make no criticism of anyone doing that. Before Wolverhampton, drivers shopped at the stores of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Rutland, Gedling, Rossendale, and Aylesbury, albeit that, excepting the latter, these shoppers sought hackney carriage licences.
Whilst some authorities, relying on past local monopolies, have pushed drivers away
through
complacency others have actively encouraged “licence shopping” and together risk destroying the integrity of our regulatory system.
WHY THE “LOCAL” AUTHORITY?
Parliament considered that the activity of driving a private hire vehicle (PHV) to be of such risk to the public that it should be regulated and gave this power to local authorities via The Local government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
One of the best explanations of the Act was by (then) Mr Justice Hickenbottom in the Blueline1
case:
“…Parliament has determined that the licensing regime for private hire vehicles is inherently local in nature” and, quoting the Law Commission Consultation Paper, considered this so because "local authorities are in the best position to determine what is needed most in their area and what the main problems and issues are."
Hickenbottom J went on to say that the 1976 Act “…promotes various public objectives through a local authority licensing regulatory scheme. The
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hallmark of that scheme is localism” and that localism “…is a firm and clear characteristic of the scheme, which can only be changed by Parl- iament, if it considers such a change appropriate.”
This case may have preceded the Deregulation Act 2015 but Parliament did not repeal the 1976 Act or the requirement that an operator, vehicle and driver must all be licensed by the same authority. Localism is still the intended hallmark of the scheme – as Hickenbottom stated, that requires Parliamentary authority
The government’s statutory guidance expects local authorities to have a “taxi” policy, of which “the primary and overriding objective must be to protect the public”. A local policy is agreed and approved by councillors, elected by their constituents to take the relevant steps to protect their safety. It is meaningless for a council to be required to have a policy if it is not expected to license its local trade.
By virtue of the localised nature of the legislation, residents of an authority are entitled to have a democratic voice about their safety in licensed vehicles. If the element of democracy in this area was not Parliament’s intention then it could have given this licensing power to the police.
A council that licenses a PHV driver, knowing that they will work in a town hundreds of miles away is implying that its policy and standards are right for the residents of that town - whether those residents agree or not. This removes what Parliament considered to be a fundamental characteristic of the 1976 Act.
Councils are not like supermarkets operating in commercial competition with each other to sell licences to licence shoppers. Our purpose under the 1976 Act is not to issue licences but to protect the public. The licences are issued as a consequence of this role - i.e. we only grant a licence if satisfied someone is fit and proper as opposed to them paying the going rate. We are not there to profit from this statutory power or to use it for any reason other than that which Parliament gave it us - protecting the public.
Whilst 99% of the trade comprises decent, honest people, the profession also attracts those who are not. How many industries have a trade magazine with
OCTOBER 2022 PHTM
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