Taxi Driver Online

One of our operator's' licenses is up for renewal. previously it was a double sided A4 sheet but now it runs to 7 pages. As well as the form each director who does not hold a drivers badge is required to fill in a form that has to be signed by a solicitor, so even more expense.
We have to have a written policy stating what our policy is for employing people with a criminal record even though they will have needed to have had a satisfactory DBS check. All office staff will need an annual DBS check, I am not sure yet if they can they can use the update service, the form does not so either way. Each shareholder will also need to have a DBS regardless of if they work in the company or not.
For 2 pins I would throw in the towel.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

the more red tape the more they justify their job and their budget

that said there have been a few stories on here over the years of people who perhaps shouldn't be directors/shareholders in taxi companies and maybe this is to counter that possibility. Our trade is still ,after all, a magnet for drug dealing/money laundering is it not ?

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

I think we have all seen an increase in red tape over the last few years.

And that's with a government who are meant to be reducing it.

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IDFIMH

and you wonder why Wolverhampton licensing is so popular?

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I'm sure someone will know, but isn't this vetting of office staff etc because of government legislation or best practice guidance, or whatever? Certainly quite a few other local authorities doing similarly.

So either Wolverhampton will also be doing it, or they're not following best practice. Who'd have expected that?

I think it's in the latest best practice consultation, so maybe some councils are jumping the gun, and others waiting.

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IDFIMH

Ours state that it became mandatory in 2020.


‘Private hire vehicle drivers are not the only direct contact that private hire vehicle users have with private hire vehicle operators’ staff, for example a person taking bookings (be it by phone or in person). A vehicle dispatcher decides which driver to send to a user, a position that could be exploited by those seeking to exploit children and vulnerable adults. It is therefore appropriate that all staff that have contact with private hire vehicle users and the dispatching of vehicles should not present an undue risk to the public or the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.’

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

here is a link to the document. I haven't had time to read it yet.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -standards

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

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 Procedures

To 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.