Taxi Driver Online

Presumably it's DVLA points referred to here, rather than the council's own points system. But, as is often the case, it's not entirely clear here


Kirklees taxi drivers argue that safety policy is 'pure racism'

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... re-racism/

TAXI drivers in Kirklees have attacked as “pure racism” a council safety policy that could lead to licences being revoked if drivers accrue more than six penalty points in a year.

They say the authority’s suitability and convictions policy is unfair and akin to “apartheid”.

However Kirklees Council says it is not changing its fitness and suitability policy, which was adopted in 2019 and already meets the minimum standards set out by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Kirklees Council says the overriding aim of the licensing services is “the safety of the travelling public”.

It says a licence holder must be “a fit and proper person” and that a judgement is made following a detailed examination of their entire character to determine their fitness and suitability.

If an applicant cannot satisfy the authority that they are a fit and proper person, then legislation dictates a licence must not be granted.

The policy is based on standards produced by the DfT, which say taxis and private hire vehicles represent “a high-risk environment”.

That guidance states: “In terms of risks to passengers, this can be seen in abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults facilitated and, in some cases, perpetrated by the trade and the number of sexual crimes which involve taxi and private hire drivers.”

But campaigners for the taxi trade say drivers in the borough, the majority of whom are Asian, are being “stereotyped as sex predators”.

Spokesman Akooji Badat said the policy was connected to cases of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and Rochdale where girls were collected from school gates and driven away in taxis to be abused.

Some of the men who carried out attacks were taxi drivers.

In a passionate address to Kirklees Council’s Licensing and Safety Committee (Mar 2) in Huddersfield Town Hall he said: “This all boils down to Rochdale and Rotherham and what happened there. Are we getting tarnished for that?


Image: Bradford Telegraph & Argus

“Why are you just stereotyping taxi drivers as though they are some kind of sex predators? What happened in Rochdale and Rotherham has nothing to do with us.”

Drivers have already gone on strike in Leeds over a similar “draconian” policy and there were intimations that similar industrial action could take place in Kirklees.

Fellow campaigner Hasan Badat said urged the council to “get to the heart of the matter”, which had dragged on for “decades”. He said taxi drivers were “crying out” to be heard.

He said: “We don’t want them doing protests in an ideal world or taking legal action but people are getting wise and beginning to consider their options.”

He said the policy proposal “beggars belief”.

He added: “The fact that you are going to lose your bread and butter if you get more than six points, that is just absolutely ridiculous not to mention racist given that the majority of the taxi drivers are from a particular community.

“Whether you call it indirect racism or institutional racism, I’ll leave that for others to work out. But that’s just not on, especially when you compare it to drivers in other trades.”

Campaigners say bus drivers or people working within the emergency services are not governed by the same policy.

Hasan Badat called for face-to-face meetings with drivers “in a community setting” that would replace questionnaires and online consultation exercises.

Licensing staff admitted the take-up had been “relatively low” and that a consultation period had been extended twice in order that “important” changes that would “impact on the trade” could be considered.

Committee chair Clr Amanda Pinnock said she was prepared to meet drivers to listen to their concerns.

If it's six DVLA points and you are out, then that's harsh.

It would be better to say 6 points and you must do a DVLA taxi test.

But clearly councillors and officials there are all saints.

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IDFIMH

Taxi licence policy slammed as 'pure racism' up for review by Kirklees Council

Kirklees Council’s “draconian” Fitness and Suitability Policy is under review as drivers call for change following a successful appeal.

The policy, which was slammed as ‘pure racism’ by taxi drivers fearing for their livelihoods at a council meeting last year, can lead to licences being revoked if more than six penalty points are accumulated. The council said the policy aims to ensure ‘the safety of the travelling public.’

Taxi drivers urged the council to review their policy when last October, a member of the West Yorkshire Drivers’ Association successfully appealed against the council’s decision to revoke their licence in line with its Fitness and Suitability Policy.

The driver won the case, had their licence reinstated and was awarded full costs of £1,800. Since then, the council has put the policy up for review, though Cllr Will Simpson (Labour, Denby Dale) says this decision was unrelated to the case, and had already been decided in Autumn last year.

Yasar Ahmed from the West Yorkshire Drivers’ Association said: “In the recent few months before the Consultation of Kirklees Council's suitability policy for Private and Hackney Drivers, it was always met with reluctance to change and review the terms of the current draconian and unfair policy.

“No other driver-led organisation is required to resign after acquiring six points on their licence. No other driver-led organisation is required to provide a "good conduct" certificate from another country of destination if a driver has to travel on holiday or in many cases sort out bereavement services as many elder relatives of the drivers live outside of the UK.

“We are forced to take a stand and use our democratic right to urge Councils to retake a look at the policy as no other profession other than the Police, Prison Service or Armed Forces is required to take such stringent measures. We are working-class men and women just trying to make a living. We can't continue to be held in such inflexible guidance when no other driver profession is.”

According to the current policy, a licence holder must be “a fit and proper person.” Their suitability is determined following a detailed examination of their character. If an applicant does not fulfil the required criteria, legislation states that a licence must not be granted.

The policy is based on standards by the Department for Transport which describes taxis and private hire vehicles as a “high-risk environment.”

That guidance states: "In terms of risks to passengers, this can be seen in abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults facilitated and, in some cases, perpetrated by the trade and the number of sexual crimes which involve taxi and private hire drivers.”

As a result of the policy, campaigners for the taxi trade explained that drivers in Kirklees, the majority of whom are Asian, are being “stereotyped as sex predators.” In March last year, campaigner Akooji Badat was concerned that drivers in Kirklees were being tarnished by the cases of child sexual exploitation that took place in Rotherham and Rochdale involving taxi drivers.

On the decision to review the policy, Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees said:

“The current Fitness and Suitability Policy related to the licensing of private hire and hackney carriage drivers has been in place since August 2019. It is normal practice for this policy to be reviewed every three years which was highlighted at a meeting of the Licensing and Safety Committee members in July 2022. A further meeting of this committee in Autumn last year agreed to consult on a revised policy, given its last review date.

“Results of the consultation will provide insight into public opinion on the proposed changes to the policy as well as giving respondents an opportunity to give their views on whether any further changes are required. We encourage people to take part in the consultation which is live now till 15 February via https://online1.snapsurveys.com/kirklees-policy.”

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IDFIMH

If LA's feel they need to dish out a penalty for offences that attract points, they could take the sensible approach and deal with it how the Traffic Commissioner deals with HGV and PSV drivers, motoring offences like mobile phone use are dealt with by the way of a license suspension starting 4 weeks for first offence, next offence could be a 12 week suspension and then the possibility of the revocation of you HGV/PSV licence if you offend again, the penalties are still dished out even if the offences where committed in your private car.

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now a licensed hackney driver

Would be interesting to know a bit more about the case

The CSE 'test purchasing' stuff here is interesting, but it seems to be linked in the headline here to the Fitness and Suitability Policy, but can't really see the link, at least not directly.

Also, there's a long list of cases of drivers warned or revoked, or whatever, but again not really clear how that directly addresses the arguments about the Suitability Policy. Just looks like a list of cases dealt with the council rather than doing anything more


Huddersfield taxi drivers fail to spot exploited kids in test says council defending 'pure racism' policy

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/loc ... t-26134844

A presentation was delivered to the council's Licensing and Safety Committee this week.

Shocking details of how some Kirklees taxi drivers attempted to hide offences when applying for their licence have been revealed for the first time.

This comes as decisions made by Kirklees Council's licensing department as a result of the Fitness and Suitability Policy were brought to this week's meeting of the Licensing and Safety Committee. The Fitness and Suitability Policy can lead to taxi drivers losing their licences if they accumulate more than six penalty points. The policy has previously been branded as ‘racist’ and has led drivers to fear for their livelihoods.

Fiona Goldsmith, the council’s Group Leader for Licensing delivered a presentation at the meeting, outlining the department's activities. Much of this was focused around the licensing of hackney carriage and private hire drivers and saw some concerning and insightful statistics brought to light.

In March last year, the committee had privately heard the details of decisions made as a result of the Fitness and Suitability policy that came into action in August 2019. Following a request from members, details of these cases have been made public and are as follows:

• A new driver applicant had a violence conviction that was less than ten years old and failed to disclose this on the application. As a result, the application was refused.

• A new driver applicant had seven points on their DVLA licence and was instructed to retake their practical test. The driver passed and was issued a licence with a warning.

• An existing driver had accumulated nine points on their DVLA licence. They failed to inform the authority and failed to declare the points on their renewal application. The driver had a history of points, had previously received a simple caution for an offence and was said to be dishonest in their interview. As a result, their licence was revoked.

• An existing driver had nine points on their DVLA licence but declared the points and showed remorse. In this instance, the driver had also been a licensed driver for 35 years. This driver had their licence renewed with a warning and the condition that they had to undertake and pass a driving test within three months.

• An existing driver had nine points on their licence and failed to declare the points but had a clear history. The licensing officer issued a warning letter and the requirement of a driving test to be taken and passed within three months.

• An existing driver who had nine points on their licence received a warning letter and the condition to pass a driving test within three months.

• An existing driver had a TT99 meaning that the driver had racked up 12 points and had been banned from driving by the courts. In this case, the driver’s licence was revoked.

• An offence regarded to be major saw a driver receive six points for having no insurance. This driver was said to have a clear history of 20 years as a driver and was remorseful in their interview. According to Ms Goldsmith, the driver also presented exceptional circumstances. As a result, the driver was issued with a final warning and had their licence renewed.

Drivers have the right to appeal and in October last year, a member of the West Yorkshire Drivers’ Association successfully appealed against the council’s decision to revoke their licence in line with the Fitness and Suitability Policy. The driver was awarded full costs of £1,800 and had their licence reinstated.

Ms Goldsmith also highlighted that between April 1 and September 30 last year, officers carried out 29 ‘proactive enforcement duties’ - this includes checks on licensed drivers, vehicles and licensed premises.

Part of this saw the licensing service work with the police in an undercover test purchase operation relating to Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). This saw two officers in plain clothes accompany a lone young girl to a hotel whilst engaging in discussions of a sexual nature. The three people used hackney carriage or private hire vehicles to travel to the hotel and made it clear that the female was underage.

Four out of five of the drivers failed to report any concerns for the young female. Due to this, all four drivers have been required to undertake mandatory CSE training delivered by the licensing services and the police.

The council’s Fitness and Suitability Policy is currently up for review with Ms Goldsmith encouraging people to complete the survey before February 15. The controversial Fitness and Suitability policy has come under fire from drivers who fear for their livelihoods. To date, there have been 292 responses.

It's not our f***ing job.

Yes, it would be better if drivers were a bit more aware, but the last people who should be preaching about ignoring CSE warning signs are councils and the police.

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IDFIMH

Kirklees taxi policy slammed as 'racist' and 'draconian' is now in force

A Kirklees Council policy condemned as “racist” and “draconian” has been updated and is now in force after approval was granted at a meeting on Wednesday (July 19).

The council’s Fitness and Suitability Policy sees taxi drivers at risk of losing their licence if they accrue six or more penalty points. This left drivers fearing for their livelihoods as was reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service last year.

The policy first came into effect in 2019 but has recently gone under review, with a draft report going through a period of consultation. The updated document explains its purpose is to: “ensure that the travelling public within West Yorkshire and York can be confident that the drivers licensed are suitable for this role and vehicles licensed are fit for purpose.”

It continues to state that drivers must be “fit and proper” and undergo testing to determine this. Drivers have the obligation to inform the council of all convictions, including minor motoring convictions and all Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN).

The consultation received 333 responses, with between 63 and 75 percent of people responding in favour of each of the council’s 19 proposed changes. However, some respondents were against the council’s plans. This stance was reiterated at the meeting with the trade representatives in attendance preferring a draft policy put forward by trade union GMB.

Councillors were divided on the issue. Cllr Adam Zaman (Labour, Batley East) described the council’s draft policy as “weak” and “quite vague.” Addressing Public Protection Group Leader, Fiona Goldsmith, he said: “The current decision-making processes where essentially you or someone else within the council decides the fate and how the policy is applied.

“Given the fact that it’s quite a vague policy and you will ultimately be making those decisions it opens the door to a lot of subjectivity which is not what we want in a policy because it needs to be clearly defined and drivers that are going to be answerable to this policy need to know exactly what they can and can't do.”

Cllr Aafaq Butt (Labour, Heckmondwike) sought clarification on the policy’s mention of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) and their need to be reported to the licensing authority. He said: “Are we saying that somebody who gets a parking ticket would have to report that to licensing?

“Why would that have weighting on somebody’s ability, suitability to be a driver? I get that there are other factors that come into this and that there are certain behaviours somebody exhibits and you start to think - this is raising alarm bells - but a parking ticket?”

Ms Goldsmith explained that: “You’ve got the people who get a parking ticket and fail to pay the parking ticket and commit an offence and they could potentially be prosecuted for that. Although it seems like a small thing in the first instance.”

Another council officer explained the difference between a FPN and civil penalty notice and that FPNs were more commonly handed out for “traffic-style parking offences.” He asserted that the policy was not about people getting parking tickets but about dealing with serious offences or a build-up of minor offences.

Cllr Butt requested the wording of the draft document be amended to make the distinction around FPNs clearer.

Cllr Zaman proposed that GMB’s draft policy be adopted as it was written “much better” and states that the decision to grant, refuse or revoke a licence sits with a committee rather than a single officer. He said: “If we’re going to have people’s livelihoods on the line when we’re making these decisions, then I think there should be more of a democratic process.”

When it came to the vote, the majority of the committee voted for the council’s policy with the amended wording around FPNs, with this effective immediately. Four Labour councillors voted for a period of consultation on the GMB draft policy but this was outvoted.

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IDFIMH

Always crying racism its got to the point that i am now cynical when someone says they were racially abused . Its being used to get authorities on their side .

or to get licensing authorities to adopt policies which suit their communities at the expense of others.

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