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Rossendale council upset yet another council
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Author:  captain cab [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Rossendale council upset yet another council
Keighley councillor calls for clampdown on taxi licensing loophole



A KEIGHLEY councillor fears a Lancashire council is not equipped to tackle a legal loophole allowing taxi drivers to dodge Bradford district’s strict safety checks.

Michael Westerman claims the problem of local cabbies deliberately getting their licences from Rossendale Borough Council rather than from Bradford Council is being compounded by a lack of enforcement in Rossendale.

Rossendale Borough Council has rejected his argument, however, stating it has a “large”, active enforcement team.

Bradford’s own licensing enforcement officers, who often carry out spot safety checks on cabs, have no jurisdiction over drivers who have acquired their licences from other councils.

The practice is legal — hackney carriages licensed for one area can lawfully operate as private hire cars anywhere else in the country.

Cllr Westerman said he had spoken to Rossendale’s hackney carriages department, which told him it only had two enforcement officers.

“They’ve got 1,700 licensed taxis in Rossendale, and there’s no way so many taxis can be operating just within Rossendale, but as long as Rossendale Council is getting the money from these licenses, it’s happy," he said.

“The cost of a taxi licence there is £275, cheaper than Bradford, and Rossendale says it has now reduced this cost even further.

"I’ve asked for an enforcement day or night to be done in Keighley, but the council told me it has only got two enforcement officers so it wouldn’t be able to do anything until it got more staff.

“The council also told me it hopes to introduce a knowledge and language test, but I was shocked to learn it doesn’t already already have this.”

Cllr Westerman, who chairs Keighley Town Council's watch and transport committee and also the joint transport forum, added: “If someone here phones a taxi company, they’ve a right to expect a car with a Bradford plate, not a plate from outside the area.”

Stuart Hastings, boss of private hire firm Metro Keighley, said Rossendale Borough Council needed to “get a grip”.

“Since the first driver had the idea of getting his licence from Rossendale it’s gone ballistic,” he said.

“I don’t know how they get away with it.”

A Rossendale Borough Council spokesman responded: “We do a lot of enforcement outside of Rossendale, including in Bradford, Manchester and Manchester Airport." We have also been in Keighley.

“We’re happy to do more enforcement work in Keighley and will be looking at getting some dates sorted as soon as possible.

"We’ve asked for Cllr Westerman to report complaints and potential hot spots to us, as this will help us target our work.

“We do have a large enforcement team carrying this work out, and we’re looking to recruit two more posts to further enhance the work we’re already doing.”

source: http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/1290 ... e/?ref=rss
Author:  captain cab [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
Quote:
A Rossendale Borough Council spokesman responded: “We do a lot of enforcement outside of Rossendale, including in Bradford, Manchester and Manchester Airport." We have also been in Keighley.


Couldn't a Rossendale licensed driver tell the LO to go f*ck himself with a banjo - outside of the district where the LO has no authority?
Author:  Nidge2 [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
captain cab wrote:
Quote:
A Rossendale Borough Council spokesman responded: “We do a lot of enforcement outside of Rossendale, including in Bradford, Manchester and Manchester Airport." We have also been in Keighley.


Couldn't a Rossendale licensed driver tell the LO to go f*ck himself with a banjo - outside of the district where the LO has no authority?


He can't say that to his own but he could say that to an LO of the authority he's working in couldn't he?
Author:  captain cab [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
Nidge2 wrote:

He can't say that to his own but he could say that to an LO of the authority he's working in couldn't he?


not sure if an LO has any authority outside his area tbh
Author:  grandad [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
What could the LO say when the practice is legal?
Author:  mancityfan [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
Councils make life hard for themselves, all Bradford have to do is get there licensing officer powers from rossendale, in other words make him a rossendale licensing officer as well, simples
Author:  Sussex [ Thu Apr 23, 2015 11:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
captain cab wrote:
Nidge2 wrote:

He can't say that to his own but he could say that to an LO of the authority he's working in couldn't he?


not sure if an LO has any authority outside his area tbh

I'm sure, they don't.

Unless the other area has formally given permission by adopting the non local officers.
Author:  skippy41 [ Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
If they dropped there prices more folk would get their licence from them, they are only peed off due to falling revenues
Author:  Nidge2 [ Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rossendale council upset yet another council
skippy41 wrote:
If they dropped there prices more folk would get their licence from them, they are only peed off due to falling revenues



They won't do that Skip the licensing trade is a cash cow to local Councils.
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