Was having a Google last night, and came across this one purely at random. Says they adopted the policy in 2019, so obviously all this has been knocking about for a few years now:
https://www.allerdale.gov.uk/en/licensi ... operators/DBS and Employee Vetting ProceduresTo uphold public safety and to assist in assessing the suitability of an applicant for a private hire operator licence, the Licensing Committee approved a new policy on 11 September 2019.
The role of a Private Hire Operator (PHO) goes beyond taking bookings and dispatching vehicles. In the course of doing that, the PHO will obtain significant amounts of personal information. It is therefore vital that a PHO is as trustworthy and reliable as a driver. To enable consistent and informed decisions to be made, it is important to have a working test of fitness and propriety.
Other concerns relate to staff used on the telephone and radios. There is no reason why a PHO cannot be required to undertake checks on those they employ/use within their company to satisfy themselves that they are fit and proper people to undertake that task and retain that information to demonstrate compliance to the local authority. Any failure on the part of the PHO to either comply with this requirement, or act upon information they obtain would have serious implications on the continuing fitness and propriety of the PHO.
To address these concerns the Licensing Committee have approved the following changes to the application criteria for a private hire operator:
1 The provision of a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate, to be no more than 28 days old at grant/renewal of licence; and
2 The provision of written details regarding a Private Hire Operator's vetting procedures for their staff, to be provided at the grant/renewal of licence and to notify the Licensing Authority within the licence duration if changes to the procedure are made; and
3 Where an application is made in the name of a limited company, partnership or other business structure, the conditions in a) and b) above apply to each director or partner of the applicant organisation.