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Clear and Present Danger
By
The Reiver
Apologies for the title, borrowed from a book (and subsequent film) by Tom Clancy. I’m afraid this article isn’t about CIA involvement in Columbian drug wars and the ensuing rescue of US forces which were abandoned by bad guys and then saved by Harrison Ford. I wish it was, it would be a damn side more exciting with helicopters, explosions and hand to hand combat. Instead, it’s about a shadowy organisation called, or formerly called, LACORS.
I think there’s part of us all that wants the government to have a little department to do its dirty little jobs. In a series of books written by Jack Higgins, fiction obviously, he wrote of the Prime Ministers private army and in particular a certain Sean Dillon, ex IRA enforcer, recruited to work for Brigadier General Charles Ferguson. They basically did the job regular law enforcement couldn’t be seen to be doing, foiling terrorist plots, often killing the bad guys and keeping the country safe.
This leads me to LACORS. Few things in life can be guaranteed, I do however guarantee you that LACORS will not be jumping out of exploding fishing boats or vigorously pursuing **** war veterans or even putting a bullet through the kneecap of a terrorist in order to extract information. LACORS is rather boringly “responsible for providing specialist advice and guidance, promoting good practice, influencing and lobbying on behalf of local government. It is also leading and partnering initiatives to enhance the reputation of regulatory services.”
The same website tells us that LACORS is no more and I quote;
“The Local Government Group brands are changing from 6 July. As part of our ‘Getting Closer’ initiative, the organisations that come under the LGA umbrella (which include LACORS) have come together to provide a much more joined up service for local authorities across the country. The new approach is also a way of both saving money and avoiding duplication of our efforts.”
Even after a few Google searches it’s still quite difficult to find out what this body actually does.
Who pays for it? Who sits on its various panels? More importantly, if, as it seems they are making towards policy documents to put to government, what actual qualifications and knowledge do these people, whoever they are, have about our industry?
If, as I suspect, it is a motley crew of whacky old licensing officers, we have very good reasons to be suspicious if not fearful of the group’s intentions.
They have, for example, produced a handbook for councillors, the imaginatively titled “Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle licensing - councillors' handbook (England and Wales)”, appears to be a badly written ladybird type guide to the taxi and private hire trades. A fools-guide to the licensed trade, if any councillor needs it, then perhaps they should continue to use a bib when they eat, and for the love of man keep away from the windows on buses, whatever they do they shouldn’t sit within 100 miles of a licensing committee.
LACORS, or whatever it’s called this week, appear to be a lobbying group which will take on board the views of licensing staff to put a consensus towards government.
Nothing excessively sinister so far, until you learn they are supposedly working closely / in cahoots* (*delete as appropriate) with the Institute of Licensing (IOL) and NALEO, during December 2009 they made various recommendations and policies.
The consultation appears awfully selective. Receiving the views of a body called the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), which I understand is a London based organisation; to most of us outside London it’s virtually unknown. And that’s about it, no NTA, Union or other national body.
Without casting any aspersions, one has to wonder what either the PCO (who were also consulted) or the LPHCA exactly know about the provincial taxi trade?
Sinister one that huh? Making a policy document based solely upon the thoughts and views of a few licensing officers, many (but not all) of whom aren’t exactly friends of the Hackney Carriage industry and a London based Private Hire Operators Association?
So what exactly does this shadowy organisation want, well as you might have expected they appear to support delimitation of taxi numbers, they support councils having the power to issue taxi drivers with fixed penalty tickets instead of committee appearances, they appear to support the restriction of driver hours and working with GoSkills they support driver training.
On this last point Casey asked GoSkills at the NTA Conference what cost to the driver would be of any future training. The reply was “it isn’t known at this time”. However, before the NTA meeting GoSkills advised LACORS that there was no more funding available and the cost of the qualification would be passed to drivers. The amount would differ from provider to provider but it would be expected to be in the region of £350.
Did GoSkills suddenly forget to tell the NTA what they told LACORS the week previous? Does one department of GoSkills talk to the other? Does a bear sh*t in the woods? I leave you to decide.
As both Casey and myself have alluded to since training began eventually there would be a day when it would be costing people, sorry, YOU people, your own hard earned cash, it would appear this day has arrived and it is now I confidently predict a rebellion. But of course you won’t rebel, you’ll moan, you’ll groan and it’ll be on ranks and then you’ll do precisely sweet FA about it.
Going from lies, or is it half truths or just silly old forgetting? In respect of the funding of training (I can’t quite decide which), let’s go to the highly controversial topic of taxi style fixed penalty tickets.
The document in December 2009 states;
“FPNs could be sold to the trade as the money claimed would reduce the fees of the compliant drivers, as part of a cost recovery licensing service.”
They seem to know the taxi trade quite well, using the phrase ‘sold to the trade’ does actually suggest an ulterior motive, although I’m sure I’m mistaken. The FPN would naturally make the life of a LO easier. Forget a committee meeting, those useless councillors might actually understand what the driver did and why he did it, its far easier fining the driver, not having an appeal and then getting on with the next job in hand, via CCTV of course.
Additionally, this selling to the trade, presumably, and we can only presume because LACORS don't deal with our national bodies, is based on the belief that we can actually trust local authority licensing departments, if we consider the broader picture, and what some are doing and have done behind our backs, we patently cannot.
In fairness to LACORS, they do state that guidance about what would constitute a fine would be needed, which is about a million miles away from what the same councils seem to believe in relation to the use of immediate suspension and section 52. Intriguingly, the DFT also refuse to issue advice on the use of section 52.
Naturally there is a danger with local authorities having the power to issue FPN’s to cab drivers, of it becoming a cash cow, indeed, recent times have witnessed CCTV being used against drivers for mundane things such as over-ranking. Whichever way a council wishes to look at a situation like over-ranking, it can only be suggested that they primarily issued too many cab licenses without providing any extra rank spaces and now want the ability to fine drivers for their own incompetence?
It’s a well known fact that local authorities fund their officer’s membership of bodies such as the IOL and NALEO. It is also a well known fact that the taxi trade is generally apathetic towards joining local associations let alone national bodies such as the NTA. However, its ultimate saviour will be its national bodies to stop screwed up ideas like these from happening.
Finally, don't for one moment believe that the DFT will attempt to bring any sort of sense to any of this. The DFT’s current regime appears to treat the taxi trade with contempt, to say relations are currently strained to breaking point isn’t exactly a million miles away from the real situation.
God I’m looking forward to 2011.
The Reiver
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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