Taxi Driver Online

There's about three million previous threads on this, but this is an official council press release today, and looks like some movement on the issue, but I suspect it's largely a PR exercise and things won't change

Of course, this is presumably about DVLA points rather than the council's own scheme, but that's not wholly made clear, and of course when reading stuff like this in the trade it can cause confusion with local authority points schemes for drivers.


Councillors to consider taxi and private hire licence changes to improve public safety in Leeds

https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/councill ... y-in-leeds

Licensing committee to discuss report on 9 August

Following consultation with the trade and public, plans to improve public safety in Leeds by changing taxi and private hire driver licensing standards are to be discussed by councillors next month.

The meeting of Leeds City Council’s licensing committee on Tuesday 9 August will consider the outcome of the consultation process and consider several options regarding the threshold at which action is taken in cases concerning taxi and private hire driver licenses or new applications with minor motoring convictions.

The current standard in Leeds is 12 points on a driver’s licence before action is taken, but work has been progressed to consider changes considering the national Institute of Licensing framework which was introduced in 2018 and includes a lower threshold of seven points as the recommended standard where formal action should be considered.

The consultation undertaken built on an earlier consultation exercise and the outcome of a working group consisting of councillors, trade representatives and stakeholder/passenger groups.

In the latest consultation, more than 2,200 responses were received, with a clear split in the views expressed with those from the trade being opposed to the changes and the general public being supportive, with some calling for stricter restrictions to be introduced than those proposed.

Three options are presented for councillors to consider which are summarised as follows:

1. a) to recommend the adoption of the standards as consulted upon;

1. b) to recommend an amended set of standards taking account of the consultation feedback;

1. c) to recommend that the standard not be approved and that further work is undertaken.

In regard to option b) the report outlines that the standard could be amended to reflect feedback form the consultation as follows:

• If a current licence holder accumulates seven or eight points, they would receive a warning and could be required to attend a driver training course to improve their driving standards and road safety awareness. They would be able to continue working and could still renew their licence.

• If a driver accumulates nine points or more, their case would be reviewed on an individual basis and they may be required to attend training or the decision could be taken to revoke their licence.

• For any new applications for a taxi and private hire drivers licence, applications would not be granted if the driver has already accrued seven or more points.

The changes included in options a) and b) would better align Leeds with councils across the country, including neighbouring West Yorkshire authorities and City of York Council, who have already implemented a seven-point threshold.

Overall, the change in standards would affect less than 1.5 per cent of all current licence holders in Leeds, with over 80 per cent of taxi and private hire drivers in the city currently having no points on their licence whatsoever.

Members of the licensing committee are being asked to consider the options and make a recommendation to the council’s executive board for consideration in September.

Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for resources and Safer Leeds Councillor Debra Coupar said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who has responded to this important consultation exercise. In considering our next steps it will be important to achieve the right balance between ensuring public safety in line with the Institute of Licensing framework whilst proactively supporting the taxi and private hire trade in Leeds.

“The options included in the report to licensing committee reflect the wide range of views received as part of the consultation process including option b) which makes a number of changes which respond positively to the feedback received. I look forward to receiving the outcome and recommendations from licensing committee when it has had an opportunity to consider this matter on 9 August.”

To see the full report to be considered by the licensing committee go to https://bit.ly/3bifmP9

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact:

Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 378 6007

Who came up with that numbering scheme - looks totally daft

No doubt it makes more sense in the full council papers, but not in a summary news release.

Personally I think the above makes sense.

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IDFIMH

This is how the Yorkshire Evening Post has reported the move. Looks mainly a rehash of the council's news release, but there's also a statement from a drivers' rep, and he isn't happy. Now there's a surprise


New convictions policy for Leeds taxi drivers may be watered down after outcry

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... ry-3787601

Proposed changes to rules covering Leeds taxi drivers could be made less strict, following resistance from the trade.


Image: YEP

Leeds City Council is looking at tightening up its convictions policy for cabbies who commit minor motoring offences and clock up points on their licence.

It had been suggested that drivers who accumulate more than six points for crimes such as speeding would potentially lose their licence, down from the current threshold of 12.

Cabbies have furiously protested against the move, branding it a disproportionate and draconian policy that will trigger an exodus of drivers from the trade.

Following a public consultation, the council has now put forward another option. It would see drivers with seven or eight points given a warning and potentially being forced to attend extra training.

Those who reach nine points could still lose their licence but each case would be judged on its own merits, with the nature of offences among the factors considered.

One local cabbies’ union that remains unhappy with the updated proposals says it make “no difference” to their original view.

Deputy council leader Debra Coupar said the proposed amendments showed the authority had “listened” to the trade.

“There was a huge response to the consultation and some of the feedback received from both the public and the trade we’ve really tried to consider,” she said.

“It’s really important to say here that we’ve got 98.5 per cent of our taxi and private hire drivers providing an excellent service to the public.

“The option going forward to the licensing committee is to establish what provision is in place for the 1.5 per cent of drivers, who may need additional support to get them up to the same standards.”

Coun Coupar said the authority had tried to strike a middle ground between the views of the public, who are generally in favour of stricter measures, and drivers who worry about losing their livelihoods over minor infringements.

She said: “There has to be a balance, with public safety paramount. The drivers are providing a public service because they’re carrying members of the public in their vehicles, but at the same time we’re trying to support and assist the trade.”

Local authorities across the country are going through similar battles with their taxi drivers over changes to convictions policies, which have been prompted by new guidance from the Department of Transport.

But Zahir Mahmood, vice chairman of the Leeds Private Hire Drivers Organisation, said that the council’s amendments “made no difference” and claimed there was no need to change the current 12-point threshold.

He said: “This is about hypocrisy and bureaucracy. It’s people who’ve never been in the trade and who’ve never done this job making the rules up.

“Getting points on your licence is so easy when you’re in a driving job. Drivers can’t make ends meet at the moment. They’re overworked and so they’re going to make these mistakes. They’re being pushed into making mistakes.

“There’s already a shortage of taxi drivers in Leeds at the moment. Give it until next year and with these new regulations passengers will be waiting two to three hours for a slot.”

The policy will be discussed on August 9 by the council’s licensing committee, which will make recommendations.

I suspect no one locally will tell you this, but I will, you are completely wrong and you need to find another trade.

A trade that doesn't think a driver with 10/11 points on his license can carry on working with no intervention from the council.

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IDFIMH

cynicism mode on

well the thing is if his cousin that came from overseas to marry an English born Muslim girl but is a rubbish driver gets to 11 points then this new scheme would mean he could no longer be exploited by the PH firm he works for or top up his benefits that keep him and his wife and 10 kids in house and home

unless they can find someone else to impersonate him and take the points for him

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

Seems the council has passed what was proposed above.

https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/committe ... y-in-leeds

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IDFIMH

Thanks for that insight

An alternative explanation is that they just got unlucky

Nothing particularly earth-shattering here, but an interesting enough read


Leeds taxi drivers protest as controversial rule change edges closer

https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds ... l-24714667

They say a change in council rules will put drivers out of work and leave passengers waiting hours for taxis


Image: LDRS/LeedsLive

Taxi drivers from across Leeds have protested outside the city’s Civic Hall, as controversial changes to the way they’re regulated move closer to being passed.

Under proposals, drivers with nine points or more on their licence will face potential bans, down from the current threshold of 12.

At a meeting on Tuesday, Leeds City Council’s licensing committee agreed to recommend the rule change be approved. The council’s executive board, made up of the most senior councillors, is expected to rubberstamp the decision next month.

The move, which stems from Department for Transport (DfT) guidance issued to all local authorities, has been bitterly opposed by cabbies in Leeds, who claim it will punish good drivers and force more people away from the trade. One trade union said last month that passengers will be waiting “two or three hours” for a taxi next year if the changes are passed, such is the shortage of drivers they predict.

But speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Andrew White, the council’s taxi and private hire licensing manager, said: “80 per cent of drivers don’t have any points on their licence, possibly they never will have.

“But the focus of regulation has to be on the small minority that pose the higher risk. We’re trying to make the public feel safe.”

Disagreeing with Conservative councillor Neil Buckley that the changes were a “solution in search of a problem”, Mr White said: “As a city we do have a high number of fatal accidents. If you are speeding and involved in a crash it’s far more likely to be a fatal accident.”

A public consultation over the changes found 94 per cent of cabbies were against the move, but a majority of the public backed making the rules stricter.

The proposals have been watered down from their original format, which would have seen drivers with seven or more points facing possible bans. Now, cabbies with seven or eight points will be asked to attend training sessions.

Those with nine points may have their licence revoked, if they’ve already been forced to attend training sessions in the past, though the council says each case will be judged on its merits and any sanctions will take account of the severity of the offences, among other factors.

Drivers had demonstrated peacefully outside the Civic Hall before the meeting started and many later streamed inside to watch the committee meeting from the public gallery.

The committee heard that “compelling” reasons would have to be given to the government for not following the DfT’s guidance.

But despite councillors being told that the guidance was driven by evidence that it would make the public safer, no such evidence was actually put before the committee.

Liberal Democrat councillor Ryk Downes said: “One thing I find difficult about this is we’ve been given national guidance to implement at a local level.

“I’d have thought something like this would be implemented by the government and then we’d all know where we are. It’s regrettable the government hasn’t made this mandatory.”

It also emerged that the council’s own staff employed to drive vulnerable children around the city would not be subject to the same rules, because they are regulated in a different way.

Speaking afterwards, Javid Akhtar, runs local private hire firm City Cabs said: “We’re not happy with the decision. It’s just going to put people out of work. We should be held to the same standards as everyone else and treated like everyone else, including the council’s own employees.”

Councillors voted by a majority of six to zero in favour of the plans, although the remaining four members of the committee all abstained.

At the meeting’s close, Labour councillor for Moortown Sharon Hamilton, who voted in favour of the changes, claimed she’d been “threatened” by members of the trade with losing her seat if she backed the proposals.

She said: “I voted with a clear conscience. I’ve read the papers and I’ve listened to the questions.

“I voted that way because I believed it was the right thing to do. I’ve been threatened by members of the public and drivers, saying that they will ensure I won’t be re-elected.”


Image: LDRS/LeedsLive

Seems to have come to some kind of conclusion.

https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/leeds-ci ... y-in-leeds

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IDFIMH

The IoL is now dictating the conditions of operation for the taxi and private hire trade.

Our trades are the only ones where this draconian regulation is applied to drivers, no other drivers are threatened to loose there living when accruing 7 points on their license.

That's the problem when you have licensing officials who know nothing, and licensing councillors who know nothing, both having to rely on members of the IoL who pretend to know something but don't.

How many people in the taxi/PH trade did the IoL consult with when they compiled their so-called licensing Bible?

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IDFIMH

Nothing particularly new here, but perhaps the very last sentence quoting the opposition councillor sums up the whole thing


Controversial new rules could see Leeds taxi drivers kicked off job for speeding points

https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds ... e-25079712

Leeds City Council say the new rules will improve public safety, but cabbies warn it could lead to taxi shortages

Controversial changes to how Leeds taxi drivers are policed have been passed by the city council.

Cabbies in the city who are guilty of minor motoring offences could now be stripped of their licence once they reach nine penalty points, down from the current threshold of 12. The decision’s been made despite widespread and furious opposition from drivers, who’ve warned it will lead to an exodus from the trade and a shortage of taxis for passengers as a result.

The council says the new policy will improve public safety and has been prompted by new government guidance to all local authorities.

Speaking at a meeting of council’s executive board on Wednesday, where the policy was passed, the authority’s leader Councillor Debra Coupar said: “The private hire and taxi trade is vital and drivers provide an outstanding service to the people of Leeds and visitors every year.

“80 per cent of drivers licenced by the council have no points. The proposed changes would affect just one per cent of current licence holders. That’s around 70 drivers out of around 5,000.”

Councillor Coupar said the authority was “working hard to support the trade, but added that, “the standards are set high to give the public the assurance they require when they use taxi services.”

Under the new rules, drivers who clock up seven or eight points on their licence will have to attend training sessions. Should a driver reach the nine-point threshold through minor offences, they could lose their licence if they’ve previously had to attend training as a disciplinary measure.

However, the council insists each case will be judged on its merits and the final decision will be made by a panel of councillors.

Coun Coupar added: “There is no automatic removal of a licence under the options proposed. The council will only revoke a licence for minor motoring offences where there is a clear concern for public safety.”

Local cabbies have demonstrated several times against the proposals, which have been on the table in some form or other for the last two years. They claim the measures are too strict and that cabbies are far more likely to fall foul of the rules than the average driver, because of the distances they cover.

Ahmad Hussain, chair of the Leeds Private Hire Organisation, accused the council of “institutional racism” in bringing the policy forward. The council strongly denies that claim.

Mr Hussain pointed out that council staff who transport children to school would not be subject to the same rules. That’s because they’re regulated differently, but cabbies say the discrepancy is unfair.

“The whole thing is supposed to be for public safety, but it doesn’t affect anybody besides the drivers,” Mr Hussain said.

“Council employees who pick up vulnerable kids and take them to school – this doesn’t apply to them. If a taxi or private hire driver picks those very same people up and takes them to school or hospital – it’s all about public safety. It’s double standards.

“We’re seeing institutional racism within the council here. We were promised a fair consultation, which has not been delivered.”

In response, the council said that suggestions of racism in the development of the policy were “categorically incorrect”.

It added: “As a local authority Leeds City Council is legally required to have a licensing regime specifically for taxis and private hire vehicles, which must be based on statutory guidance issued from the Department for Transport.

“A full equality, diversity, cohesion and integration screening concludes that the policy meets the council’s public sector equality duty.”

The council also said allegations that the policy and the taxi and private hire department were racist had previously been investigated fully and not upheld.

A consultation over the changes was held earlier this year and found cabbies overwhelmingly against the move, although members of the public who responded were in favour of tougher sanctions.

The council had originally proposed the threshold for potential bans be seven points, but upped that to nine following the consultation.

The group leader of Leeds’ Conservative opposition, Councillor Andrew was critical of the council’s decision and said he would have it “called in” for further scrutiny.

That means a cross-party panel would publicly discuss the matter and potentially recommend changes or that the move be abolished, although the final decision would remain with the council. In that context, the move is unlikely to be reversed.

Councillor Carter told the executive board: “It seems to me over the last 15 years the condition and suitability of private hire vehicles in Leeds has come on light years. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?”

Certainly meets the council's duty towards the production of bovine excrement

Pretty certain most punters would sooner walk home than be taken by a driver with 12 points.

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IDFIMH