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The Dundee case established the principle that Council's who establish a list of interested parties awaiting granting of a hackney taxi licence has no basis in Law.
Mindful of this we have asked City of Edinburgh Council what they perceive the status of their own list to be.
Here is a letter to Licensing Officer, Peter Lang.
Peter
The council has already issued two tranches of licences from the Interested Parties List.
I would be grateful if you could tell advise me of the following:-
How many individuals are on this list.
Can you tell precisely which part of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (or other relevant legislation) provides for the list?
Does the council intend to issue further licences to those currently on the list?
If the council does not intend to issue further licences from the list, have those on the list been notified? When will they be? In what way?
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
His reply is as follows:-
Jim
Further to my response of 4 October the answers to your questions are as follows:
Q. How many individuals are on this list?
A. 99
Q. Can you tell precisely which part of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (or other relevant legislation) provides for the list?
A. The Council's list of interested persons is non-statutory and was established in 1990, when the Council resolved to impose a limit on taxi licences. It is a policy originally adopted in order to assist with the allocation of any surrendered taxi licences. It may also be a relevant consideration if the Council increases the number of taxi licences in the future.
Q. Does the council intend to issue further licences to those currently on the list?
A. If further taxi licences become available, the Council will determine the allocation of those licences based on any applications received by those on the list and any other relevant circumstances at that time, including the existence of any other outstanding applications.
Q. If the council does not intend to issue further licences from the list, have those on the list been notified? When will they be? In what way?
A. The list is still relevant. The Council will continue to review demand and if, at some point in the future, it is identified that further taxis are required then it is likely that those persons at the top of the list will be invited to re-apply.
Regards
Peter Lang
Taxi & Private Hire Licensing
The City of Edinburgh Council
Tel:0131 529 4250
Entirely unsatisfied with this response, we sought clarification:-
Peter
Can you confirm that, given the interested parties list is "non-statutory", it has no legal standing?
Would you agree that those on the list, who have waited for 15 years, have no applicant status and that they would need to submit a new application which would be considered equally along with any other applications?
Will you confirm that those on the list enjoy no preferential status and that the Council is unable to honour the preferential status the list members believe they have, and despite the fact that the CEC has twice previously given such preferential status?
You will recall that two tranches of licence issues were previously made from this list. Can you therefore also supply me with full details of how City of Edinburgh Council publicised that licences were available and how you advised the taxi trade that any applications from those not on the list would be dealt equally with those from the list?
Can you tell me how many licences were issued during these periods to applicants who had not been on the interested parties list, and how many to those on the list?
In the event that it is decided to issue more licences, and the demand for those proves significant, specifically how will CEC decide who is granted a licence? Will it be on a first come, first served sequential allocation basis? And, will CEC advise the taxi trade generally, simultaneously with those on the list, that applications for taxi licences may be submitted?
Or will preference be given to those who have been on the interested parties list? If so, can you detail precisely where in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, Councils are allowed to issue licences on such a preferential basis?
You have claimed that the list is relevant. I repeat my previous request for you to highlight precisely where in the Act this "relevance" is established. If not in the Act per se, which other statute are you using to justify its existence.
I would ask you to remember in answering the above that in the Dundee case, it was established that such lists had no basis in Law and were irrelevant.
I would be grateful if you would advise me of the precise notification you have given to those on the list in explanation to them of their legal position.
Finally, you have claimed that the list was initially intended for use in re-allocating returned licences. How many such licences were issued since the list's inception?
Given that, according to the Dundee case precedent, the list has no legal standing, why did the Council not solicit applications for these licences from the general public?
I thank you for your response within ten working days.
Yours
Jim Taylor
We look forward to receiving the Council's response.
Meanwhile, we would welcome comments.
For our part, we reckon that the list has no validity in Law. The Council can not go to the list to give preference when new licences are granted in the forthcoming de-restriction and CEC has made no effort to explain to those on the list that, despite having seen licences already granted from it, and despite the fact that they've waited patiently on the list in expectation of their licence being granted, the Council is now not in any position to grant them the preferential status they believed they had.
The council's response will be attached.
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