Received this today
David Farmer
Buses & Taxis Division
Department for Transport
Department for Transport
3/13 Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR
DIRECT LINE: 020 7944 2283
FAX: 020 7944 2212
E-mail:
David.Farmer@dft.gsi.gov.uk
Web Site:
www.dft.gov.uk
19 July 2006
Dear Colleague,
GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS TO THE ROAD SAFETY BILL
I am writing to tell you about two amendments which the Government has today tabled to the Road Safety Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. They relate to taxi and PHV drivers working pending appeal and to the PHV "contract exemption".
Both amendments affect England and Wales outside London.
Working pending appeal
The first amendment concerns the revocation or suspension of a taxi or private hire vehicle (PHV) driver's licence. Currently, by virtue of section 77 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, a driver whose licence has been suspended or revoked by a local licensing authority may continue working until the time period for appealing against that decision has expired and, if an appeal is brought, until the appeal is determined. The amendment will have the effect of enabling a licensing authority to suspend or revoke a taxi or PHV driver's licence with immediate effect - meaning that the suspension or revocation takes effect immediately once notice of the authority’s decision has been given to the driver - where they consider that necessary in the interests of public safety. Within London, Transport for London, as the licensing authority, already has the power to do this. Any decisions to suspend or revoke a licence made before the date of coming into force of the amendment will continue to be governed by the current legislation. The position on the suspension and revocation of PHV operators' licences and vehicle licences will also remain unchanged.
We would expect this new provision to be used in a small minority of cases; in most cases a driver will be able to continue working pending an appeal.
The contract exemption
The second amendment will repeal section 75(1)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, under which vehicles used only for carrying passengers for hire or reward under a contract for hire for a period of not less than seven days (and their drivers and operators) do not have to be licensed ("the contract exemption"). Within London there is no equivalent to the contract exemption, though you may be aware that the Road Safety Bill already provides for the closing of a loophole in the definition of a private hire vehicle in the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 which has been made use of by unlicensed contractors in London.
In deciding to bring forward these amendments now, Ministers were mindful of the need to deal with the risks to public safety that continuation of the present position would represent (particularly where children or vulnerable adults are being carried in unlicensed vehicles by unlicensed drivers). The inconsistency in relation to these two matters between the legislation applying in London and that applying outside London can not be justified in the light of the safety concerns.
Ministers also took account of the following factors in relation to the contract exemption:
- information we have received recently from the trade and licensing authorities indicates that the use of the exemption is on the increase;
- character and background checks on drivers carrying out longer-term private hire contracts would be more appropriately and effectively carried out by local licensing authorities rather than individual contracting bodies; and
- there is understandably concern that some contracting bodies may undertake no character checks on unlicensed drivers.
It is recognised that the removal of the contract exemption may require new arrangements to be made by some contracting bodies and contract providers, and that those unlicensed operators, drivers and vehicle proprietors currently benefiting from the contract exemption should be afforded sufficient time to become licensed, if they wish to do so. It is therefore proposed to leave an appropriate period between Royal Assent to the Bill and the coming into force of this particular provision.
The amendments will be considered by Parliament in early October.
If you have any comments or questions on the above, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Please feel free to circulate this information more widely.
Yours sincerely,
David Farmer
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