Taxi Driver Online

Apropos another thread, interesting remarks from the licensing manager towards the end here.


Invitation to tender for Craven taxi MOTs draws a blank

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... aws-blank/

AN exercise for garage and MOT testing stations to tender to carry out tests on Craven taxis has been met with silence.

All licensed vehicles in the district are required to be tested by an authorised testing station annually. The test involved an MOT test and enhanced licensed vehicle check (ELVC). Vehicles over three years of age must have an ELVC every six months.

Members of Craven District Council's licensing committee met on January 25 and heard there was currently one testing station authorised to carry out the required testing and had been appointed in February 2020. The contract was for one year. A further year extension was granted in 2021 and is due to expire at the end of February this year. Again, there is an option for the contract to be extended for another year.

Following requests from committee members and the trade, the licensing manager has run a new tender exercise, but had no response from other potential test stations - some 49 in Craven - which have the facilities to do the tests and checks.

Committee members were told the responses to the tender were due back by January 31 - the date of which has passed since the meeting. Licensing manager Tim Chadwick said there had been no tenders received from any of the testing stations.

Cllr Paul Whittaker asked: "Are we not offering them enough money?" to which committee chairman Cllr Simon Myers answered: "The fees side is something we could look at."

However, Mr Chadwick explained it was a tendering process and testing stations would look at the costs involved and determine what they could do the work for and put their tender forward for consideration.

Cllr Andy Solloway asked if the council could extend its invitation to outside the district. "Do we have to test (the taxis) in Craven?" he asked.

Members were told there was nothing in the rule books to stop garages and MOT testing stations from outside Craven with the capabilities of carrying out the enhanced checks needed from being included in the tendering process, but that only the 49 within Craven had been approached on this occasion for consideration for the work if they wished and the capacity and skills for the work.

Councillor Peter Madeley said he found it incredible that of all those asked, no one had said to the council that they wanted this work.

Members agreed to note the report.

Can't think of a single reason local garages wouldn't want to get involved with a council and councillors

It's the tendering process and the umpteen different forms and declarations.

A very good mate of mine does a contract with a public body and the hoops and costs he has to go through are breathtaking.

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IDFIMH

Another Council and its Officers prepared to go against an ACT of Parliament.

Vehicles must be tested within the Council district

which is why I don't bother trying to prequalify and bid on school contracts as we would need to do that 3 times once for Peterborough once for Rutland and once for Lincolnshire

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

20 years ago my Local authority school run application for tendering a price consisted of two A4 documents which were to be completed in black ink and in block capitals, one had my all my trading details and relevant vehicle information and the other had the contract applied for and the price you were bidding with, these contracts were easily found on the councils website..took less than 30 minutes to complete.

Now though i have to register with Procurement Scotland before I can even be considred for a Tender and that equates to around 70 Pages of A4 sheets and nearly takes a degree in computer science to complete with every type of declaration and policy ever dreamt up...and then if any offers to tender come my way its another several online pages of tick boxes and declarations and then further proof that your ticks are bona-fide and a price, these procesess take me the best part of a week to do to ensure they are correctly done.

What took 30 minutes in 2001 now takes 40 hours and with no guarantee that any contract will materilase from it.

Small wonder people don't bother...overkill bureaucracy is putting many people off.

Are you saying that if no one in the district wants to test the vehicles that no vehicle licenses can be issued?

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Grandad,

But presumably the council would have to make its own arrangements to test the cars if they can't get a third party to do it?

And, anyway, do local authorities have to test cars at all, or is that merely an option? Section 50 reads like there's no actual obligation on councils to test plated cars. Pretty unlikely the wouldn't, but legislation reads like they don't actually have to...

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/57/section/50

Rutland don't test cars. You just take an MOT that is dated within the last month.

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Grandad,

How do you think they can do that at the moment? garages can't get MOT testers around here as it is. The garage that we use may not be able to carry out tests for much longer due to lack of staff.

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Grandad,

Unfortunately I'm not an expert on the labour market for MoT testers in either Craven or Melton, so no point in me offering advice

But, as the article suggests, maybe the council just not offering enough dosh. But the mast majority of councils seem to manage it somehow, so presumably Craven will just have to take advice from them

But maybe a nationwide shortage of MoT testers will be the next big thing

And didn't notice your earlier post about Rutland not testing cars - well, obviously that's the ultimate solution, if push comes to shove, and they can't get anyone to do specific taxi tests, or can't conduct them themselves.

I'd guess quite a lot of smaller authorties do likewise, or at least have contracting out arrangements.

Oh, and maybe Craven could take some advice from Wolverhampton Council

According to Heathcote testing must be done within the district.

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Grandad,

Well I meant Wolverhampton in relation to contracting out arrangements, but the cross-border testing element has been discussed here and in another thread (as you'll know) and it's a slightly different issue