Taxi Driver Online :: View topic - What if the Government legislate?

Has anyone ever contemplated what might happen if the remaining councils don't show a willingness to de-limit taxi numbers? The Government of the day could bring in legislation that will take numbers control out of the hands of "all" local Authorities.

JD

I think that the legislation is already there by way of ''Regulatory Reform Act 2001'' should the govt decide to go that way.

Yes, JD, you are just mischief making.
Nothing whatsoever will happen before the next election.

There are lots of grounds for justification, so, Mr Sussex, you will wait a long time for your dream to materialise.

Yes you are correct but if the "new Government" does decide to legislate when they revisite the situation in just over two years time, it will still take 12 months for the reform order to pass through the commons.

We will certainly find out after the end of March when restricted LA's should have justified there policies.

I can foresee those that dont basically ruining it for those that have.

The one thing local government should be aware of is that National Government can make things pretty uncomfortable for local government.

They have had plenty of time, and one council I have spoken to haven't got any money to do a survey for another two years.

There will be no penalty.

When they ask for any justification all they have to say is that they believe their local policies to be within the best interest of the people within their borough and as the DfT conceed they are best placed to make that decision.

That would be wrong in some areas but right in others.

B. Lucky :twisted:

The DfT state that councils remain best placed to decide local issues.

Author:	JD [ Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:	What if the Government legislate?
Has anyone ever contemplated what might happen if the remaining councils don't show a willingness to de-limit taxi numbers? The Government of the day could bring in legislation that will take numbers control out of the hands of "all" local Authorities. Those who advocate limits may not realise that at this moment in time a council who wishes to re restrict numbers can more or less do so without impunity. This privilege to re restrict numbers may be taken away by the Government should they have cause in just over two years time to bring in Legislation. I wonder if Mr Kavanagh and his ilk have ever taken a step back and considered this consequence? Thought provoking isn't it. lol Best wishes JD

Author:	Yorkie [ Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:37 pm ]
Post subject:
No John not thought provoking at all, just giving false hope to some and spreading panic to others. the chances of a bill is nil for the forseable future, all bill time is required for more mundane things like law and order. there more chance of a bill outlawing paper delivery men and fast tan touts. and the chances of that is nil as well. regretfuly

Author:	Sussex [ Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What if the Government legislate?
JD wrote: Has anyone ever contemplated what might happen if the remaining councils don't show a willingness to de-limit taxi numbers? The Government of the day could bring in legislation that will take numbers control out of the hands of "all" local Authorities. It's an interesting thought, but I doubt that any council will pass the justification question, if they wish to re-restrict now. They can't really blame standards because they are the ones setting them. And I would have thought the advent of the DDA 1st Phase (where saloons are the current norm), will make many of the exiting trade think twice, let alone new entrants.

Author:	cheshirebest [ Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:35 pm ]
Post subject:
JD I think that the legislation is already there by way of ''Regulatory Reform Act 2001'' should the govt decide to go that way. It was proposed to use this act to de-limit taxi numbers. There are lots of grounds for justification, so, Mr Sussex, you will wait a long time for your dream to materialise. Yes, JD, you are just mischief making. Nothing whatsoever will happen before the next election. I think that both P/H and Hackney should direct their energies towards other things like the current mis-information in the media after attacks on women. There have apparantely been two cases of rape in south manchester and last night the TV news were showing Black Cabs on the news suggesting that it was Cab Driver/s who had done this. These stupid women had got into cars thinking they were P/H and got raped and now the Cab Drivers get blamed. I saw a car (without any markings as P/H) picking people up in Manchester City centre last week-end. If I pass the details to the Police nothing will get done anyway.

Author:	JD [ Wed Dec 15, 2004 6:27 pm ]
Post subject:
cheshirebest wrote: JD I think that the legislation is already there by way of ''Regulatory Reform Act 2001'' should the govt decide to go that way. Yes you are correct but if the "new Government" does decide to legislate when they revisite the situation in just over two years time, it will still take 12 months for the reform order to pass through the commons. Quote: Yes, JD, you are just mischief making. Nothing whatsoever will happen before the next election. lol me mischief making? never. lol The thought accurred to me a while ago and i've been meaning to offer it up for discussion on several occasions. Sometimes when people fight for a cause they sometimes forget to look at the wider implications. I was of the opinion that if a future Government was minded to alter section 16 of the 1985 act they may do so in a way that would cut off the head of all local Authorities with respect to Re restricting numbers. Perhaps you don't subscribe to that view but you have to admit that if a future Government is minded to do away with section 16 a licensing Authority with regard to re restriction would immediately become impotent. Best wishes. JD

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Author:	TDO [ Thu Dec 16, 2004 7:54 pm ]
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cheshirebest wrote: There are lots of grounds for justification, so, Mr Sussex, you will wait a long time for your dream to materialise. Problem is that most of the grounds for justification are rubbish. But if you repeat rubbish often enough then people will eventually believe it, and luckily for you that is generally the case in restricted areas. But the truth will out, eventually

Author:	TDO [ Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:02 pm ]
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JD wrote: Yes you are correct but if the "new Government" does decide to legislate when they revisite the situation in just over two years time, it will still take 12 months for the reform order to pass through the commons. It may still take a while to make it through, but it shouldn't up too much parilamentary time, which was obviously the intention of the Regulatory Reform Orders. So I don't think Yorkie's argument about lack of Parliamentary time holds water. But on the other hand that's probably the reason there haven't been official proposals for root and branch reform, which would require a time-consuming full-blown Act, since after all even the DfT sees the need for a 'rewrite'. It's for this reason that I've always thougth the OFT report was a stitch up - the ony 'problems' they found could be rectified by RRO. Or, alternatively, the best practice guidance from DfT, which doesn't even need an RRO.

Author:	TDO [ Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:10 pm ]
Post subject:
But going back to the thread topic, the two statements in the Govt's OFT response that stood out for me were: The Government is therefore strongly encouraging all those local authorities who still maintain quantity restrictions to remove restrictions as soon as possible. and The Government itself will review in association with the OFT the extent of quantity controls in three years' time to monitor progress towards the lifting of controls. If necessary, the Government will then explore further options through the RRO or legislative process if insufficient progress has been made. But it's funny that these statements have barely been mentioned by 'the trade'.

Author:	captain cab [ Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:01 pm ]
Post subject:
as ever a very valid point JD. We will certainly find out after the end of March when restricted LA's should have justified there policies. I can foresee those that dont basically ruining it for those that have. The one thing local government should be aware of is that National Government can make things pretty uncomfortable for local government. This thread deserves a lot more credence than its getting. regards Captain cab

Author:	Alex [ Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:23 pm ]
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captain cab wrote: We will certainly find out after the end of March when restricted LA's should have justified there policies. I can foresee those that dont basically ruining it for those that have. The one thing local government should be aware of is that National Government can make things pretty uncomfortable for local government. I think a considerable number of councils will miss the March dead-line. Many have only just considered doing SUD surveys. Others are still in the process and have yet to consider this issue in council. I hope the Government do make it akward for those councils that seem stuck in the mud. They have had plenty of time, and one council I have spoken to haven't got any money to do a survey for another two years. Alex

Author:	captain cab [ Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:27 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: They have had plenty of time, and one council I have spoken to haven't got any money to do a survey for another two years. funny how they can ALL find money to pay themselves huge expenses Captain cab

Author:	Gateshead Angel [ Sun Jan 23, 2005 8:57 am ]
Post subject:
There will be no penalty. The DfT state that councils remain best placed to decide local issues. When they ask for any justification all they have to say is that they believe their local policies to be within the best interest of the people within their borough and as the DfT conceed they are best placed to make that decision. That would be wrong in some areas but right in others. B. Lucky

Author:	captain cab [ Sun Jan 23, 2005 12:55 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: There will be no penalty. lol Mr Angel, were not at Old Trafford. If you consider what the goverment done when poor of Saddam upset them, then I can foresee possible US intervention (perhaps the T&G pushing the Atalanta thing), an invasion (from private hire to hackney) and years of civil war. Captain cab

Author:	TDO [ Sun Jan 23, 2005 6:02 pm ]
Post subject:
Gateshead Angel wrote: When they ask for any justification all they have to say is that they believe their local policies to be within the best interest of the people within their borough and as the DfT conceed they are best placed to make that decision. That would be wrong in some areas but right in others. B. Lucky Well that's the empty rhetoric perhaps, but I think that's the kind of thing Nidge recently characterised as 'bollox'.

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Author:	TDO [ Sun Jan 23, 2005 6:04 pm ]
Post subject:
Gateshead Angel wrote: The DfT state that councils remain best placed to decide local issues. That must be why they've spent a decade developing a mandatory spec for WAVs, not to mention the implementation of the DDA in relation to taxis more generally. And they've been on the best practice guidlines for years as well!