..DBS DILEMMA..DBS DILEMMA


What causes the type of inordinate delays at Stage Four that result in weeks turning into months before a DBS is returned? On the part of the applicant, it could be because they have changed address since their last DBS; sometimes if incorrect or incomplete information is submitted, the application is rejected outright. A recent bulletin from the DBS announced that from 1 August 2019, applications found to have missing address information - addresses at which an applicant has resided within the last five years that haven’t been declared on the application - will be withdrawn and a new application will need to be submitted.


But by far the most common reason for these delays at Stage Four is down to a lack of police resources: they have not got the time to follow up on so many local background checks. This is where the dis- parity comes


in between/amongst


licensing districts, and why some licence holders get their DBS back in some dis- tricts much more quickly than others.


This is where the role of the licensing authority comes in, and where it is possible that a potential compromise is achievable to keep existing licence holders in work. Under section 53 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, it states: (1)(a): …every licence granted by a district council … to any person to drive a private hire vehicle [(b) extends this provi- sion to hackney carriage drivers] shall remain in force for three years from the date of such licence or for such lesser peri- od, specified in the licence, as the district council shall think appropriate in the cir- cumstances of the case.”


Circumstances have arisen over the years whereby licensing departments have indeed been able to grant a temporary licence to a driver for a variety of reasons, and for a variety of time periods. They could even do this for a matter of days. But when it comes to a delayed DBS, most councils put their foot down, plead “Rotherham/Rochdale/Oxford” and say it’s not worth the risk allowing any driver to continue carrying passengers without an up to date DBS.


A POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION


We believe there is a way around this: the National Private Hire and Taxi Association is currently working with one licensing authority to devise a disclaimer form, which the applicant for renewal of their badge must sign to affirm that nothing will have turned up on their DBS record since their last enhanced check. On submission


OCTOBER 2019


In the unlikely event that something did turn up on the DBS, that applicant would be revoked immediately – not only on the basis of public safety, but also for not dis- closing the information, which in itself is fraud.


Risky? Of course there is an element of risk – but then such risk exists in theory behind every application for a taxi or private hire licence; how else did the situation arise in Rotherham/Rochdale/Oxford? Obviously judgment must come into play on the part of the individual licensing department, and this is where knowledge of the applicant and their past record with the department is crucial. Such risk could never be taken with out-of-area applicants, or by licensing departments whose officers never see the applicant in person.


As for the age-old trick of licence-hopping to avoid one’s record being disclosed, there is now a system in place that would help lower that risk factor: the NR3 national reg- ister of taxi and PHV licence refusals and revocations.


This register was launched by the Local Government Association in July 2018 to allow councils to record details of where a taxi or PHV licence had been refused or revoked, and to allow local authorities to check new applicants (to their area) against the register.


The NR3 was commissioned as a volun- tary register; currently 86 per cent of local authorities (358) are already mem- bers of the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN), which developed and hosts the register, and can access the register at no cost.


We would ask most strenuously: Of those 14 per cent of councils not yet registered on the NAFN, would you consider doing this as soon as possible? You know who you are: it is incumbent upon your coun- cil(s) to join in with the most important ‘security net’ ever devised in this industry. If the entire network of licensing authori- ties shows such unity, then perhaps there will be less need for bona fide hard work- ing drivers to be put out of work awaiting their DBS checks to be returned – on the basis that the ‘bad apples’ can be identi- fied countrywide.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT


In these times of heightened awareness of CSE and safeguarding, it is not proposed to drop standards or increase security risks. Rather, we would ask that a degree of com- mon sense and compassion could be used in situations where a genuine hold-up of a DBS return would put a long-standing licence holder in the district out of work, and to avoid this the council could issue a temporary badge “as the district council shall think appropriate in the circumstances of the case.”


The mechanism is there to do it; as always, each case should be considered on its mer- its. The key word is “consideration”.


However, until and unless licensing author- ities ever consider this line of action, we cannot stress strongly enough:


Make your DBS application well before your badge expires! Don’t risk losing out on your livelihood; the job is tough enough out there without having to endure this sort of setback.


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Licensing authorities are responsible for adding basic details of drivers who have had applications for a licence either refused, revoked or suspended. The inten- tion is that when a licensing authority receives an application for a licence, the applicant’s details will be checked on the register to confirm that there is no record of them having been revoked or refused elsewhere.


of that form the council could allow the driver to continue to work; then when his/her DBS is returned, their (full) badge would be issued, and backdated to the date they submitted the disclaimer and were allowed to continue working.


The “circumstances of the case” would most likely exclude drivers for school and Social Services contracts, on the basis that they transport children and/or vulnerable adults.


So at this point we must pose the ques- tion: What about the remaining 14 per cent of local authorities that have not registered for the NR3 service? We know there is a cost involved (currently £1,500), to become a member of the NAFN and access the NR3 register at fno cost, but it is understood that this would be a legitimate cost to be included in the licensing fee.


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