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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:00 am 
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Taxi driver out of work due to records check

https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/h ... check.html

A TAXI driver has been unable to work for more than two weeks because of delays to his Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Saghir Ahmed’s current background check expired on July 11 and he re-applied on April 8, but this still hasn’t been approved.

The father-of-five, who has worked from the taxi rank in Hart Street, Henley for 14 years, says he is now unable to buy food, pay his mortgage or the insurance for his taxi.

DBS checks are carried out by organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to check whether a person has a criminal record that would make them unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults.

The 45-year-old, who lives in High Wycombe, said he had to reapply for the check every three years but had never experienced any problems before.

Mr Ahmed said: “I’m not going to work and I’m losing money. I’m still waiting to find out what's happened. I’m struggling. I’m angry because I’m stuck. I’m still at home and I can’t drive a car — it’s my livelihood.

“Three months is a long time to wait and there’s no explanation.”

His last day of work was July 10 and he missed the Henley Festival which he said was usually a busy time for him.

He said he had called the DBS and South Oxfordshire District Council, the licensing authority, several times but nobody could help.

Mr Ahmed said: “Every single day I ring the council and the DBS and it’s the same procedure. They say ‘wait, wait, wait’ and I say ‘how long have I got to wait?”

Mr Ahmed said he’d had to borrow £200 from a friend in order to buy food, while the insurance for his taxi was £130 a month.

Mohammed Parvaiz, the chairman of the South Oxfordshire District Taxi Drivers’ Association, wrote to the district council asking for action on Mr Ahmed’s case.

He said: “He is still waiting for the DBS check to come through, which is not his fault. In the past the council has issued the taxi badge under these circumstances.

“I believe the delay of not issuing the badge is out of order and clearly it’s not his fault. He submitted the application well in time. He has been a taxi driver for a long time, they have all his past history.

“This is the only job he knows. He is now out of a job because of this issue. You need to understand that he has a family and a mortgage to pay.”

A spokeswoman for the district council said: “We are unable to issue a driver’s licence without the DBS disclosure, as this is required for us to determine whether a driver is a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

“Where the DBS service level target is exceeded (60+ days at any particular stage) then both we and the driver can escalate this directly with the DBS.”

A spokesman for the DBS said: “We currently produce more than 85 per cent of all enhanced and standard level checks within 21 days and more than 96 per cent in 42 days. Some checks can take longer than this for varied reasons that are often outside of our direct control.”


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:01 am 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 6:33 am
Posts: 13819
Quote:
Mohammed Parvaiz, the chairman of the South Oxfordshire District Taxi Drivers’ Association, wrote to the district council asking for action on Mr Ahmed’s case.

He said: “He is still waiting for the DBS check to come through, which is not his fault. In the past the council has issued the taxi badge under these circumstances.


Wonder why they're not issuing it this time? IoL guidance? Tightening up?

What happens elsewhere?


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 7:29 pm 
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Quote:
What happens elsewhere?

Down here the driver would be given a temporary extension until such times the DBS comes back.

Any council that doesn't do likewise is an utter shower of sh**. [-X

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 7:32 pm 
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Quote:
A spokesman for the DBS said: “We currently produce more than 85 per cent of all enhanced and standard level checks within 21 days and more than 96 per cent in 42 days. Some checks can take longer than this for varied reasons that are often outside of our direct control.”

For a fella who has driven a cab for 14 years, thus had had at least 5 previous checks, that is completely unacceptable.

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