Taxi Driver Online

I have just been reading the 2023 best practice guidance and I found this section.

5.3 Joint authorisation of enforcement officers
Licensing authorities should, where the need arises, jointly authorise officers from other authorities so that compliance and enforcement action can be taken against licensees from outside their area. An agreement between licensing authorities to jointly authorise officers enables the use of compliance and enforcement powers regardless of which authority within the agreement employs the officer and which issued the licence. This will mitigate the opportunities for licensees to evade regulation. Such an agreement will enable those authorities to take action against vehicles and drivers that are licensed by the other authority when they cross over boundaries. A model for agreeing joint authorisation is contained in the LGA Councillors’ handbook.

It has left me wondering why Councils do not have these arrangements in place so that local enforcement can be more effective against the likes of Wolverhampton plated vehicle and drivers working all over the country?

Because they cannot be bothered to use the tools available to enforce the LAW.

The LAW does not require changing apart from getting rid of the Deregulation Act but Licensing Authorities need to address the problem of Officers not having the will to do their jobs correctly.

Every time they have tinkered with the Law the result has been the worsening of the situation not an improvement of it.

Partly because most councils don't understand they can work with their neighbours, partly because most councils don't know how to arrange joint working legally, partly because most councils don't undertake enforcement actions even on their own, partly because most councils haven't got the money (or say they haven't got the money) to fund proper enforcement, and partly because most councils haven't got properly trained enforcement officers to actually do those checks in adherence to the law.

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IDFIMH

This ^

AKA the 'too hard' basket