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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 7:18 pm 
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Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:12 am
Posts: 8
all i have seen is Andy Burnham mention something about it a few months ago ,something along the lines a Labour government would look into cross border hiring issue,but as he is not a Mp and in a position to really do anything ,i took it with a pinch of salt


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Thu Jul 04, 2024 11:20 am 
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Posts: 1569
mdlmrk wrote:
all i have seen is Andy Burnham mention something about it a few months ago ,something along the lines a Labour government would look into cross border hiring issue,but as he is not a Mp and in a position to really do anything ,i took it with a pinch of salt


I have seen a little more

If the only local authority that issued private hire licences was the principal authority, there is an immediate and automatic private hire industry controlled by the same (effectively national) standards.
Obviously, this would require significant co-operation between every local authority, but that could be co-ordinated by the Local Government Association (LGA). It would require local authorities to relinquish their control over PH licensees, but as will be seen, that would be outweighed by national safety standards and the removal of a local authority's requirements being undermined by other PHDs and PHVs.
It would also require the principal authority to accept this responsibility and expand its licensing operation accordingly.


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:09 pm 
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Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 6:30 pm
Posts: 55198
Location: 1066 Country
TaxoPoint website has an article discussing what the new Labour government could/might do.

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/cross ... government

My personal view is that nothing will change in the next parliament.

Truth is, in the grand scale of things, we really aren't as important as we all think we are.

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IDFIMH


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:33 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 5:33 am
Posts: 14736
TaxiPoint wrote:
While Labour has not explicitly detailed plans for introducing caps, the party has historically been sympathetic to measures that protect workers' rights and ensure fair competition.

Oh-aye, let's get the fleet holders running a hundred cars, and people living abroad controlling them to the exclusion of drivers who only want their own plate, and all that kind of malarkey, to 'protect workers' rights and 'ensure fair competition'.

A mad-cap idea :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:48 pm 
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And if anyone isn't aware, MCF is quoting from an article in Professional Driver Mag about a plan licensing solicitor James Button has to solve the cross-border issue without changing the legislation :roll:

Quite a clever argument, but would depend on 300+ local authorities getting together and deciding that one of them should in effect become a national licensing authority for PHVs :-o

Chances of that happening? - zero would be a fair approximation, I'd guess :roll:

I mean, they couldn't even agree a common standard in the likes of Greater Manchester, so what chances the whole country?

And even if they got 90% of them on board, there would always be other authorities who would see the opportunity to become the next Wolves if the chosen authority decided to up the quality barriers a bit. Or if the chosen authority was bottom-of-the-barrel standards-wise, there would be plenty of authorities who wouldn't play ball with that.

And then there's the whole complexity of the enforcement issue etc.

So it's pie-in-the-sky, basically [-(

Assuming this link works, the article is on pages 12 and 13:

https://www.prodrivermags.com/issue/pro ... june-2024/


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:59 pm 
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Posts: 14736
And the basic contradiction and political/practical difficulty with James Button's plan is encapsualeted here - compare what's said in the first paragraph with what's said in the third [-(

Pro Driver Mag wrote:
For national standards to be put in
place, this intensely local system is a
major obstacle. Private hire and taxi
licensing is a major revenue-earner
for cash-strapped councils, and for
many licensing departments, there is a
resistance to outside influence on their
little empires. Squaring
this particular circle may
pose problems.

But one man believes
it can be done. James
Button has a plan. Button
is a solicitor who special-
ises in taxi law, and he
believes there is a way to
get national standards in
place that does not require
legislation or major struc-
tural change.

In a nutshell, this is
the plan: Allowing one
particular local authority
to become the national
licensing authority for
England and Wales. This
“principal authority”
would effectively set the
standard, and its choice
would be agreed by all
other licensing authorities
in England and Wales.
“This radical proposal is
readily achievable using
the current legislation,”
Button says.


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:53 pm 
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Location: Plymouth
It would leave Plymouth out in the cold. Can't see a '76 Act PHV/Operator being able to Run/Operate in the '75 Act Area.

For the same reason, Plymouth would be out of the running to be the providing Authority.

A final point, License Fees are "ring fenced". Monies raised can only be used for the Licensing function. An Authority can choose to subsidise, but it can't cream monies of to add to the General Rate.

Academic really. It just ain't gonna happen.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:54 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:47 pm
Posts: 19808
Location: Stamford Britains prettiest town till SKDC ruined it
I've always thought that the best solution would be licensing done Nationally (by a government agency) and enforcement locally which removes all inter council arguments and puts people on a much more equal basis.

Councils trying to cooperate is often a recipe for disaster.

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


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:56 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:47 pm
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Location: Stamford Britains prettiest town till SKDC ruined it
Quote:
Monies raised can only be used for the Licensing function. An Authority can choose to subsidise, but it can't cream monies of to add to the General Rate.


In theory not in practice surely ?

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


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 Post subject: Re: Autumn Election 2024
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 7:41 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 5:33 am
Posts: 14736
Yes, the bit about the financing just didn't seem to ring true, at least in the grand scheme of things:

Pro Driver Mag wrote:
Private hire and taxi
licensing is a major revenue-earner
for cash-strapped councils, and for
many licensing departments, there is a
resistance to outside influence on their
little empires
.
So if you look at it in the context of local authorities as a whole, it's a non-runner in terms of an argument. But it's a slightly more compelling point maybe in the context of empire-building licensing departments, as is ably demonstrated by Wolverhampton.

Maybe, for example, a bigger empire means bigger salaries for some, and bragging rights in terms of the municipal ego [-(

But in terms of local government financing in the round, it's an irrelevance, as per what Chris says.

And to a degree that may simply be a theoretical argument for some authorities, Edders, but once you get to the likes of the Wolverhampton model in terms of scale, I doubt they'd get away with it.

(And can't be bothered looking back, but pretty sure there's been mention of the financials in some of the official Wolves stuff. And if they are making a surplus for the authority there, it's certainly not because of the high fees :-o )


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