Taxi Driver Online :: View topic - S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverhampton

Ooft - this is potentially a significant development. Of course, there are local authorities sharing licensing functions, but is there any precedent for councils handing it over lock, stock and barrel to another council to administer?

I'm not sure they can shift matters lock stock and barrel, but they can, as many do, share the licensing function.

Down here Lewes and Eastbourne share, as do Adur and Worthing.

“CWC has embraced and dealt with these changes. The level of process change and investment by CWC, embracing new technology for service delivery and taking into account the new technology used by the taxi trade, along with a robust approach to compliance and enforcement is impressive.”

According to the latest DfT stats, South Staffs had 2 HCs, 94 PHVs, 33 operators and 94 dual badges.

Quote:

According to the latest DfT stats, South Staffs had 2 HCs, 94 PHVs, 33 operators and 94 dual badges.

You have to wonder how many they had before Wolverhampton became the 'bottom of the barrel' council.

But all the acts are written to ensure licensing is undertaken locally, not by faceless pen pushers situated many miles away.

Author:	StuartW [ Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:13 am ]
Post subject:	S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverhampton
Council considers handing over taxi licensing to neighbouring authority https://www.expressandstar.com/news/loc ... authority/ South Staffordshire Council is considering handing over taxi licensing functions to a neighbouring authority in a move that is claimed could cut costs and improve public safety. Councillors and officers from the district authority have met with City of Wolverhampton Council to discuss the transfer, a report has revealed. If the delegation of Hackney Carriage and private hire vehicle licensing to the city council is approved it could be for an initial period of three years. Members of South Staffordshire Council’s Regulatory and Licensing Committee were due to discuss the proposals at a meeting on Thursday. They went into a private session before considering the move, but the report was available for public view ahead of the meeting. It said the benefits of delegating taxi licensing functions to City of Wolverhampton Council include greater choice for the trade in terms of garages, medical practitioners and online applications, as well as boosting public safety through tighter standards and improved enforcement activity. The move could also reduce licensing costs for the trade and council costs, the report added. It said: “The taxi market is undergoing significant change in the same way that licensing authorities are. This has been further accelerated through the Covid pandemic. “The key challenges (include) the need for greater enforcement resources to be devoted to taxi licensing as a result of various investigations into child sexual exploitation. “App-based booking systems, supported by case law, make the traditional view of a private hire operator in an office with a phone located within the boundary of the licensing authority outdated. “SSDC (South Staffordshire Council) faces the same financial challenges that all public sector organisations are facing in trying to achieve a balanced budget and financial stability through its Medium-Term Financial Strategy. “The Covid pandemic has forced the way we do business with the trade to find on-line rather than face to face solutions to processing applications for licenses. It has also created additional urgency in reducing the financial burdens on both the Council and the taxi trade. “City of Wolverhampton Council (CWC) has embraced and dealt with these changes. The level of process change and investment by CWC, embracing new technology for service delivery taking into account the new technology used by the taxi trade, along with a robust approach to compliance and enforcement is impressive. “Members and officers have met with CWC and it was decided to explore the opportunity for joint working.” In recent years South Staffordshire Council has seen a reduction in income from taxi licensing. Although income this year is currently estimated to be higher than 2020/21 declines are expected in the coming years. The report said: “The council has been struggling to balance income and expenditure on taxi licensing for the last five years, and this will increasingly become more difficult with a balance shortfall of £25,000 expected by 2023. “The council will lose its income stream from taxi licensing fees if we enter into the agreement with CWC. For 20/21 this is budgeted at £60k. As indirect costs are inflexible in the short term and as it is anticipated that direct costs will be redeployed to support environmental health work, then the council faces a situation where potentially it loses £60K income but keeps all the cost. “Staffing will be retained in order to continue to meet statutory targets for the wider environmental health team. Redeployment of resources is crucial to supporting administration and electronic filing systems in the service on a long term basis. “There are however a number of matters that CWC need to deliver from SSDC premises and using SSDC staff including room hire, training, organising and servicing committee hearings, contract management and reporting. Facility will be made within the proposed transfer agreement for CWC to purchase services from the council to the value of approximately £60K per annum for three years “There will therefore be no net cost of the transfer to CWC."

Author:	StuartW [ Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:14 am ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Ooft - this is potentially a significant development. Of course, there are local authorities sharing licensing functions, but is there any precedent for councils handing it over lock, stock and barrel to another council to administer? I daresay there might be, but it's maybe significant that it's Wolverhampton City Council here, so could be the thin end of the wedge if this goes through, particularly with regard to small local authorities with inefficient licensing departments which can't benefit from economies of scale etc. But this would just be complimentary to, and a natural extension of, Wolverhampton's effective provision of licensing functions to other local authorities in the guise of cross-border licensing.

Author:	Sussex [ Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Quote: Ooft - this is potentially a significant development. Of course, there are local authorities sharing licensing functions, but is there any precedent for councils handing it over lock, stock and barrel to another council to administer? I'm not sure they can shift matters lock stock and barrel, but they can, as many do, share the licensing function. Down here Lewes and Eastbourne share, as do Adur and Worthing.

Author:	StuartW [ Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Sussex wrote: I'm not sure they can shift matters lock stock and barrel, but they can, as many do, share the licensing function. Down here Lewes and Eastbourne share, as do Adur and Worthing. Not sure about the legalities, but not unusual for local authorities to 'outsource' functions to 'arms-length', third-party bodies, or whatever the terminology is. Of course, the difference here is that it would be another local authority taking on the function. But it may well be portrayed as some sort of join venture/shared responsibility, or whatever, but obviously Wolverhampton would be doing the lion's share of the work and shouldering responsibilities on a day-to-day basis. But just like many local authorities clearly don't like Wolverhapton's role in cross-border licensing, I suspect many would also object in principle to what's proposed here.

Author:	StuartW [ Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:39 am ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Couldn't help thinking about Wolverhampton when reading this. Not sure precisely what this will do that isn't available in an 'off the shelf' sotware package already, but you need a big budget and economies of scale to be able to afford this sort of bespoke 'solution', so to that degree that's maybe how Wolverhampton has managed to make its systems so efficient and cost effective, and of course if the likes of South Staffs hands over its licensing function then that just adds to the efficiencies and could set the ball rolling. But according to the Dft stats there's only two HCs and 94 PHVs in South Staffs, so you can see where they're coming from... Funnily enough, according to the stats South Staffs has issued only 94 dual badges, so something doesn't quite add up, but certainly very small numbers Transport for London contracts TCS as it modernises taxi and private hire operation https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252 ... -operation TfL signs 10-year deal with Indian IT services giant to digitally transform taxi and private hire administration Transport for London (TfL) has appointed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to overhaul the administration of taxi and private hire vehicles in London. The deal will see the Indian services giant digitally transform an operation that supports 115,000 taxi and private hire vehicles through its DigiGov framework. TCS will design, implement and operate a new smart mobility system for the next 10 years. It will include an on-demand data and records management system that will enhance user experience by offering services such as licensing payments and refunds to vehicle operators and owners through digital channels. Workflows will be streamlined and will link the user-friendly interfaces with back-end processes. TfL hopes the increased use of digital technologies will encourage more self-service among taxi and hire car licensees. Data will be hosted on AWS cloud, so it can support further growth and reduce outages. TCS will conduct in-depth training as part of the onboarding process. Graham Robinson, general manager of taxi and private hire at TfL, said the deal will improve the operation and enable the organisation to keep pace with digital developments. “An efficient and effective licensing system is paramount for any regulator overseeing taxi and private hire operations in a world city,” he said. “We are pleased to have signed this contract with TCS, as it ensures our business keeps pace with technological developments and gives the best possible service to licensees.” Amit Kapur, head of TCS in the UK, said part of the agreement is to ensure that TfL can adapt to changes in its business, such as the registrations of connected, shared, electric and autonomous vehicles. “TfL is the foremost transportation authority in the world, with its innovative approach to managing urban transportation with the use of technology and data,” said Kapur. “The new TCS-designed technology system will meet TfL’s key objectives, enhance customer experience and enable future requirements.” TCS is the biggest IT service provider in India and one of the biggest in the world, boasting many of the globe’s biggest businesses as customers. It was building its UK public sector with growing revenues until the Covid-19 pandemic stalled customer spending. According to Tussell, which analyses government spending data, in 2017, TCS made £30.9m sales to the UK public sector, and this increased to £52m by 2019, before the pandemic slowed things. There is huge potential for growth in the UK public sector for TCS and other Indian services firms, where their market share is a fraction of that in the private sector. TfL is in the process of modernising its business. For example, it recently selected two startups from its 2019 RoadLab innovation challenge to provide smart technology to support the city’s road network. Artificial intelligence (AI) software from Samdesk will use anonymised social media data to detect incidents on the road network and simulation technology from Immense will provide models of roadworks to help gain an understanding of their impact on London’s road network. Samdesk’s AI technology uses real-time anonymised social media data to detect emerging disruptions, which TfL said would give staff a more comprehensive insight into incidents unfolding across the transport network.

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Author:	StuartW [ Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
South Staffordshire taxi licensing to be handled by Wolverhampton Council https://www.expressandstar.com/news/loc ... n-council/ Taxi operators based in South Staffordshire will have to cross the border into Wolverhampton for licensing services in the future. South Staffordshire Council is handing over taxi and private hire licensing functions to Wolverhampton Council (CWC). The delegation was agreed by the district authority’s cabinet on Tuesday for an initial three-year period. A cabinet report said: “Joint working by way of delegating the taxi licensing function to CWC has several benefits: greater choice for the trade including on-line applications (and) in terms of garages and medical practitioners; greater public safety through improved enforcement activity (and) tighter standards; reduced licensing costs for the trade and costs for the council. “The taxi market is undergoing significant change in the same way that Licensing authorities are. This has been further accelerated through the Covid pandemic. “The key challenges (include) increasing cross-border hire based on apps, e.g. Uber, (and) the need for greater enforcement resources to be devoted to taxi licensing as a result of various investigations into child sexual exploitation. App-based booking systems, supported by case law, make the traditional view of a private hire operator in an office with a phone located within the boundary of the licensing authority outdated. “The Covid pandemic has forced the way we do business with the trade to find online rather than face to face solutions to processing applications for licenses. It has also created additional urgency in reducing the financial burdens on both the council and the taxi trade. “CWC has embraced and dealt with these changes. The level of process change and investment by CWC, embracing new technology for service delivery and taking into account the new technology used by the taxi trade, along with a robust approach to compliance and enforcement is impressive.” South Staffordshire Council has seen a fall in income from taxi licensing in recent years, the report said. It said: “The council has been struggling to balance income and expenditure on taxi licensing for the last 5 years, and this will increasingly become more difficult with a balance shortfall of £25,000 expected by 2023. “Government and the Local Government Association advice and guidance, supported by case law, encourages local authorities to ensure that all administration and enforcement costs of a licensing system are met by the beneficiaries of the system and not at the expense of the general taxpayer. “SSDC faces the same financial challenges that all public sector organisations are facing in trying to achieve a balanced budget and financial stability through its Medium-Term Financial Strategy. “If the taxi licensing function is not delegated to CWC there will need to be a significant increase in taxi licensing fees in order to sustain a balance in expenditure and income.” Members of the taxi trade in South Staffordshire have been consulted on the changes and two meetings were held, including a virtual session. The report said: “Concern was expressed in relation to an expected increase in fees at CWC. However, fees at SSDC would increase significantly in a fee review. This increase is balanced by the reduction in vehicle fees. “The trade were very complimentary of the service provided by SSDC, and highlighted worries that the service may not be as personal or timely at CWC. At SSDC with a very small team sickness or holiday absences increase the risk of gaps in provision to the trade, and we have received complaints about availability of appointments. “Ability to apply for licences online 24 hours per day should give the trade more flexibility and ease of access to the service.”

Author:	StuartW [ Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:24 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
According to the latest DfT stats, South Staffs had 2 HCs, 94 PHVs, 33 operators and 94 dual badges. (Therefore lots of one-man bands and very small despatch operations, and even two 'spare' vehicles.) So tiny numbers overall, and obviously makes sense in terms of efficiency for a larger entity to handle these things. But there's just something about Wolverhampton council...and maybe better if these things were decided on a national basis rather than like this. I could see a trend developing, particularly in the post-pandemic environment, all the cross-border stuff, and the UK-wide 'brands' like Uber and Bolt.

Author:	Sussex [ Sun Dec 12, 2021 6:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Quote: According to the latest DfT stats, South Staffs had 2 HCs, 94 PHVs, 33 operators and 94 dual badges. You have to wonder how many they had before Wolverhampton became the 'bottom of the barrel' council. But all the acts are written to ensure licensing is undertaken locally, not by faceless pen pushers situated many miles away.

Author:	heathcote [ Sun Dec 12, 2021 8:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
Sussex wrote: Quote: According to the latest DfT stats, South Staffs had 2 HCs, 94 PHVs, 33 operators and 94 dual badges. You have to wonder how many they had before Wolverhampton became the 'bottom of the barrel' council. But all the acts are written to ensure licensing is undertaken locally, not by faceless pen pushers situated many miles away. Agree that most of L/A Officers either cannot read, do not understand the relevant Acts of Parliament and definitely take no notice of High Court Judges remarks when in numerous court cases they have stated licensing matters are to be taken locally.

Author:	Sussex [ Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: S Staffs Council proposes handing licensing to Wolverham
South Staffordshire Council's taxi licensing change aims to save money Taxi licensing services in south Staffordshire will be handed over to a neighbouring council to save money. South Staffordshire Council has seen a fall in income from the services. Functions such as processing licence applications will be delegated to the City of Wolverhampton Council for an initial three years. In approving the move, the Staffordshire council's cabinet heard it would reduce costs for the authority and the taxi trade. A report to councillors said the change would also offer online application facilities and greater public safety through tighter standards, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Several taxi operators have stopped trading over the past 18 months due to a difficult operating climate, the report added. Taxi licensing income for 2020-21 was £54,700 with the current year's estimated at £61,000 but council officials said they expected declines in future years. "This will increasingly become more difficult with a balance shortfall of £25,000 expected by 2023," the report said.

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