FIT AND PROPER
LEEDS CABBIES RISK LOSING LICENCE AFTER BREACHING CONTROVERSIAL NEW POINTS SYSTEM
Three Leeds cabbies are at risk of losing their licences after falling foul of controversial new rules. Under a policy adopted by the city council last year, cabbies who clock up nine points on their licence
line with other authorities in West Yorkshire which already allow the prac- tice.
for minor motoring
offences can be stripped of licence. The threshold had previously been 12 points. The change was bitterly opposed by the Leeds Private Hire Drivers Organisation (LPHDO), who claimed it was unfair and disproportionate, but the council said it would improve passenger safety and was it brought in under government guidance. The local authority also insisted that revoking a licence would be a last resort, with training offered in the first instance. Now, it’s been revealed that three drivers are due to face hearings within the next couple of months after being among the first in Leeds to breach the nine-point threshold. The council’s licensing committee was told on Tuesday 1 August, that all three had previously been given training after falling foul of the rules before. The committee voted to extend a 12-month pilot, brought in when the policy was introduced last summer, to have all such cases decided by a panel of councillors, rather than by licensing officers. It means those hearings can go ahead.
Ahmad Hussain, the chair of the LPHDO, said he wanted all potential punishments of drivers to go before councillors in public to ensure there is transparency
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2023
Deputy council leader, Debra Coupar, said the scheme would give drivers a “much-needed boost during the
in the process. Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Hussain said: “We’re happy they introduced that system and we’re glad they’re extending it, but we’ve always said sub-committees have to be there for all suspensions and revocations – not just for minor motoring offences. "It’s far better to have that decided by what is effectively a jury, rather than by an officer.” The LPHDO also welcomed a new council initiative allowing drivers to work for two cab firms. The move, announced recently in the form of a pilot scheme, brings Leeds into
cost-of-living crisis”.
But Mr Hussain said the policy should be adopted permanently. “It’s been brought in to stop the exodus of drivers leaving Leeds,” he said. This should have come in a long time ago. It’s better late than never, but some would say it’s too little too late. “If it’s something completely new for the industry then we’d understand the need for a pilot. But why do they need to do a pilot scheme when it’s already happening in local authorities all around them, such as in Bradford and Wakefield?”
UNLICENSED NEWPORT CABBIE BANNED AND FINED £1,850
An unlicensed driver has been banned from driving and ordered to pay £1,850 after being caught using his cab illegally.
Hamza Abdul Mutaleb Thabet Ghalib, 34, from Newport was driving throughout the city last year without a licence He used his “taxi” while breaking
the law on Upper Dock Street, Cwmbran Drive, Lakeside Drive, Medway Close and Azalea Road in May 2022. Ghalib was banned from driving for six months. He was ordered to pay the £1,850 in fines, costs as well as a surcharge.
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