Taxi Driver Online

would they be any worse than the council ? Actually you might be right there

I think we should have a serious discussion on here as to the feasibility of having a separate agency to handle all taxi licensing and leave just enforcement to councils BUT what would it cost to run ?

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

SERIOUS DISCUSSION OOOH WOULDN'T THAT BE ORIGINAL

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

I think that's what the government want - they'll have capita running the admin side - for a profit obviously and maybe VOSA doing the enforcement - the government are squeezing LA budgets till the pips squeak, giving licensing departments more and more to do and making them look unfit for purpose.

Its a common ploy - just like what their doing with the NHS and BBC.

They'll give the contracts to their criminal friends.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

corrected for accuracy

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

Not as much as the Council charge each year that is a fact. The Police have open access to the whole database of convictions, they could also have access to the border agency records and find out whether people are working on student visas.

Demand for answers on taxi drivers child abuse scandal


Further questions have been raised over South Ribble Council’s handling of a taxi driver child abuse investigation.

After a report over allegations of two taxi drivers exploiting two girls was kept secret, the press and public may face being excluded from a special meeting on the issue.

Labour called the ‘extraordinary meeting’, which will take place on April 27, but the Tory-led council is insisting councillors vote on whether the public can attend.

Officers insist this is a “matter of course” as two members of the licensing department are suspended, pending results of an investigation.

Labour leader Coun Paul Foster said: “The whole point of us calling this meeting is to get things out in the open. We want absolute transparency but they (the council) are still trying to surpress information coming out. It’s appalling.”

At Tuesday night’s scrutiny committee meeting, members who tried to ask questions about the issue were prevented from doing so by council officers.

Committee chairman, Coun Mick Tithertington, said the problem arose when questions were asked about data sharing between licencing and the police, something criticised in the investigation report.

He said: “The director said it was going off the agenda and there was a meeting next week for that. I reminded him that it was perfectly valid to ask questions covered by the partnership, though I did acknowledge we were not able to discuss individual cases.

“The main purpose of scrutiny is to hold the executive to account and it’s important members ask penetrating questions.”

A spokesman for South Ribble Borough Council said: “It is the council’s intention to discuss the issues surrounding the licensing function of the council, including ongoing investigations, in public.

“However, there is an agenda section on Exclusion of the Press and Public. That is not unusual as it is a constitutional requirement when discussing officers and their conduct.

“We are in the middle of a live investigation based on sensitive and confidential information. We have to be extremely cautious about how we could impact, not only on that investigation, but also the disciplinary hearings of two officers. It was, therefore, inappropriate for councillors to discuss these matters at Tuesday’s scrutiny meeting.

“The final report, however, will be published in full – as always intended – when it is completed.

“The council has acted robustly since these issues were brought to our attention. We commissioned the external, independent review and have been working hard to implement its recommendations.

“We are doing a job and that job is not yet complete. When it is we will share our findings.”

Coun Matthew Tomlinson, Lancashire County Council’s member for young people, said he was writing to LCC’s chief executive and leader, asking them to demand reassurances from South Ribble Council that the safeguarding of children has not, and is not, being compromised by the way in which this situation is handled.

source: http://www.lep.co.uk/your-lancashire/so ... -1-7869196

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Extraordinary meeting over taxi drivers child abuse scandal gets members heated



A major row broke out at an extraordinary meeting last night as South Ribble councillors discussed the handling of a taxi driver child abuse investigation.

Labour bosses slammed the council’s all-tory cabinet for “covering up” a secret report commissioned by South Ribble Council’s leaders, which has been kept away from the public.

At the meeting at the Civic Centre in Leyland, coun Paul Foster, Labour leader, said he had been made aware of the report in November and asked for it to be made available to all members but was told he could not divulge the information to anyone. He also said he had not been part of the decision to keep the report within the cabinet and himself and labelled the handling of the investigation “a stitch up, a cock-up and a cover up”.

However several of the executive strongly refuted his claims and coun Warren Bennett said he looked forward to the time the full report would be released and for coun Foster to apologise for some of the comments he had made.

The damning report in question, seen by the Evening Post, claims one driver was arrested for sexual assault on a primary school girl and a ‘vulnerable’ 16-year-old girl complained that a male driver had made “inappropriate sexualised remarks” to her.

Solicitors commissioned by the council found licencing bosses failed to carry out background checks on drivers and did not carry out appropriate investigations into the allegations.

The report even warned “there is a clear risk to the safeguarding of not only children, but the public as a whole.”

Two licensing officers have also been suspended since late December.

The council could have excluded members of the public and press as a standing order says they may do so when the conduct of a council employee is being discussed but both were admitted.

In a pre-written statement, Margaret Smith, Leader of South Ribble Council, said the final independent report will be published in full when it is finished.

She also pledged all recommendations from the ongoing review of its licensing function will be implemented.

It was also unanimously decided that Coun Michael Titherington, chairman of South Ribble Borough Council’s scrutiny committee, would review the final report and that the scrutiny committee consider the review process and identify any areas for improvement prior to being considered by the council.

Coun Titherington said he vows to uncover the truth.

Read more: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/crime/extraor ... z476cTRFZp

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

South Ribble leader forced to speak on taxi driver scandal



The Leader of South Ribble Borough Council has pledged all recommendations from the ongoing review of its licensing function will be implemented.

Speaking at a full council meeting to discuss the issue, Councillor Margaret Smith stressed the independent investigation had yet to be concluded but that the authority had already taken action to act upon its interim findings.

She said: "I want to reassure the residents of South Ribble that nothing matters more to this council than their safety, and in particular that of our children and young people. We acted swiftly as soon as issues relating to the licensing service were brought to our attention and are determined to learn any lessons the report highlights.

"This council is committed to being open and transparent. When we receive the final independent report it will be published in full, which has always been our clear intention. This council is not afraid to open itself up to external challenge, to accept where improvements can be made, and to ensure they are implemented.

"The report which has been publicised over the last week was only ever an interim version. It was certainly not in a suitable format to be shared as widely as it was. It included individual's names and information that could jeopardise ongoing disciplinary procedures concerning members of staff.

"The interim report has set out a number of recommendations for making sure our licensing service works effectively in the future. We have accepted all of them and have taken them forward.

"The recommendations include a comprehensive exercise to ensure all taxi licence applications have the right documentation in place, and steps to reinforce our staff's understanding of their role in protecting the public. We will also roll out a refreshed programme of mandatory safeguarding training for all staff over the coming months.

"Over and above the recommendations in the interim report, we have also put in place additional resources, extra checks on taxi licences, reformed our procedures and invested in extra technology to improve the way our licensing service operates. The safeguarding board and the county council have also been given assurances about the swift action we have taken and our commitment to continue working with them and keeping them fully informed."

Councillors agreed for the scrutiny committee to oversee the publication of the final report, and identify any further lessons that need to be learnt.
Councillor Smith added:

"There is a shared commitment on all sides of the council to public safety. It is important we work together on a cross-party basis to ensure the improvements that may be required in the licensing department are carried out.

"We will put an action plan in place to ensure that any further recommendations from the final report are implemented. I am absolutely determined to protect the public and we will make sure that our licensing functions are absolutely and completely spot on."


source: http://www.thebee.co.uk/news/local-news ... r-scandal/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Admission that their licensing function is a failure,someone must be held responsible for this failure,Councillors obviously on this Committee do not know what they are doing and should admit it,training of Councillors and Officers must be non-existent,if they implement a training programme it should not be left to this Councils own Officers to draw it up as they have been a total failure up to now.

South Ribble taxi child sex claims report 'cover-up'




Calls have been made for three council cabinet members to be dismissed over a report that found allegations of child sexual exploitation by taxi drivers were not dealt with adequately.

South Ribble Council's opposition leader, Paul Foster, has accused the Tory-led authority of hiding the interim report in a "stitch-up".

He said councillors Warren Bennett, Caroline Moon and Michael Green had "no right to hold the information back".

They deny any wrongdoing.

Councillor Foster raised the issue at a meeting in Leyland on Wednesday. He said the three cabinet members had received the interim report and "sat on it".

Openness and transparency

The three councillors "excluded" other cabinet members and "managed the internal review themselves", he claimed.

This, he said, went against the council's constitution.

The trio said it was right to keep the report, which was leaked last week, from the rest of the council until it was finalised.

The report, written in December by solicitors Wilkin Chapman LLP, detailed two cases of alleged child sexual exploitation involving two licensed taxi drivers.

One case alleged a taxi driver had made inappropriate sexual remarks to a vulnerable 16-year-old girl who he transported as part of a school contract, and one involved a driver who was arrested for sexually abusing a girl of primary school age.

The cases were "not properly investigated" by the council, the report said.

It recommended the council should "identify any risk to the public" and improve its training of staff.

Two members of staff were suspended.

The leader of South Ribble Council, Margaret Smith, said the authority had already made most of the changes recommended, and the full report would be published once the investigation had concluded.

At the meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet voted unanimously for the chairman of the scrutiny committee Mick Titherington to form a group to investigate the report's findings.

Lancashire County Council's Cabinet member for Children, Schools and Young People and Labour Councillor for Leyland, Matthew Tomlinson said it was a "sorry, sorry mess" and called for openness and transparency.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-36151879

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Mum: Council taxi driver abused daughter, 5, on way to school

A HORRIFIED mother has spoken of her disgust after the taxi driver she accused of abusing her five-year-old daughter was allowed to remain behind the wheel for 13 MONTHS while on police bail.

The 41-year-old says she warned police and council bosses of her daughter’s claims, but the driver was allowed to keep his licence for 13 months, despite being on police bail.

The shocking claim led to a child exploitation scandal which hit South Ribble Council in Lancashire last month.

The mother said: “I’m stunned and angry. It has been a disaster since day one. Days after giving statements to the police, I was walking with my daughter to school when this man passed by us driving a taxi.

“He slowed down as he went past us and my daughter totally freaked and had a full-blown panic attack.

"I couldn’t believe he was still behind the wheel.

“For the next few moments he tortured us, driving slowly past us as we walked to school, until police told him to change his route.

“The police told me he was school runs. I felt utter revulsion. I thought he’d be taken off the road as soon as he was put on bail.”

The mother says she is furious after the Crown Prosecution Service decided her daughter was too young to give evidence, despite the report revealing police “consider the driver did commit the offence”.

The shocking report, which bears a horrifying similarities to the Rotherham sex abuse scandal, was said to have found children in South Ribble, Lancashire were put at risk after the local authorities failed to carry out proper checks on at least 44 drivers working on council-funded school runs.

The report detailed a number of shocking cases, including a five-year-old girl who was left “totally traumatised” after allegedly being touched inappropriately by a taxi driver. In another incident a 16-year-old says she feared she would be raped.

It is understood that a full report, due to be released next month, will detail another five cases of children being exploited by taxi drivers in the area.

Express.co.uk has contacted South Ribble Council for comment.

source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/666635 ... school-run

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin