FROM; The Anderson ShelterTHURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2011Law Commission Looking into Taxi and Private Hire Legislation, Alarm Bells Ringing!!!The Law Commission are looking into taxi and private hire legislation, with a view to tidying it up and simplifying it.
There is going to be some sort of public consultation in April 2012 and they will report their findings/recommendations next summer, around about the start of the Olympic Games.
There is a strong likelihood that their recommendations will pass through Parliament and become law.
This could potentially, have a huge impact on our trade and the way we work.
It may be for the better, or it could also be for the worse.
What we don't need, is to be caught on the wrong foot with our pants down and whilst everyone is preoccupied with the Olympics, for the rug to be pulled from under us...
What Semtex has to say:I had no idea about it. I am by nature a initially suspicious person. Countless times throughout my life, my suspicions have been unfounded, but in more times that I am comfortable with, my doubts have literally saved my life, without sounding melodramatic.
I am therefore, wary of this 'simplifying and tidying up' brief, and would like to learn more about the guts of it.
Although I understand it is being overseen and chaired by The Law Commission, I am very keen to find out which members are actually taking part, and their professional CV and 'other' interests, both financial and personal.
Every time I read or hear anything of this nature, the threat of the 'Hidden Agenda' races to the forefront of my cynical old brain.
It isn't often that any professional body offer help or ease of passage to our great London Taxi Trade, so I am naturally slightly unnerved by what The Law Commission propose to 'simplify or tidy up'.
I want to put in writing, that this will bite us in the arsse, and we need to put the experts on this immediately!This stinks!
Archaic, Victorian, horse drawn, modern technology, techology, GPS ???
My radar is going into orbit! I don’t like the sound of this one little bit mate!
Remember me saying this folks.
Anyone want to bet that the request for mini cabs to pick up in the street, to keep up with 'modern times' will be considered?
I might be thick, but I read this as they think we are too archaic and old fashioned to be viable!
Law Commission Statement:"Status: The consultation for this project is due to open in April 2012.
We are reviewing the existing framework of taxi and private hire vehicle regulation with a view to preparing proposals for consultation.
Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) are an important part of local transport. They operate in highly regulated markets where safety and quality control are paramount. Licensing covers key areas such as the quality of services, the fitness of drivers, fare regulation and restrictions on the number of licenses issued.
The current law on taxis and PHVs has been criticised for being complex and out-dated.
One problem is the multiplicity of legislation. Taxis, which can “ply for hire” so customers can stop them in the street, have different rules to PHVs which can only be pre-booked. In turn each of the taxi and PHV trades is regulated by multiple statutes. There are also different legal systems along geographical lines distinguishing Plymouth, London and the rest of England and Wales. Whereas some distinctions are clearly justified others are less clearly so.
Some of the legislation, particularly relating to taxis, is archaic. The key statutes date back to Victorian times and refer to “hackney carriages” when taxis were literally horse-drawn vehicles. Case law and guidance are indispensable in interpreting the law. This also makes the legislation less able to reflect more modern technology like the telephone, internet and GPS technology.
The project
The project examines the legal framework relating to taxis and PHVs with a view to making it simpler and more modern. We aim to publish proposals for reform in April 2012. This will be followed by a three month consultation period where we invite the public to respond to our proposals. We plan to publish a final report with our recommendations and draft bill by late 2013."Mark my words, this 'simplifying, tidying up' bollox will kill us.
We need to deal with this and act as a trade as a matter of urgency.
The Law Commission:I am busy conducting a CV check on the celebrities who are 'dealing' with this 'modernisation' to our 350 year old service that ain't broke.
Click here to see my findings
{ Semtex’s findings after clicking on the above link are as follows;From; TAXI LEAKS - The Wikileaks of the Taxi WorldTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2011
Law Commission CV's...by Semtex 
Here's the first one and the man in charge.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Sir James Munby QC.
It sounds more like a fairy tale than the kind of behaviour expected in high society.
But the story of Earl Spencer, two judges and seven little piggies is unlikely to have a happy ending.
One of the country’s leading lawyers told the Earl that he had named his sow’s piglets after the character traits of a High Court judge – including ‘self-regarding’, ‘pompous’ and ‘pillock’.
Costly divorce: Earl Spencer, with his former wife Caroline, claims that settling with her out of court cost him an extra £1 million.
The insults were revealed by Princess Diana’s brother as he prepared to sue the lawyer over the handling of his divorce.
After the Earl handed £5.65million to his ex-wife last year, Sir Nicholas Mostyn emailed him about Lord Justice Munby, who heard the case.
The keen farmer, now a High Court judge himself, said his sow had given birth, adding, ‘The piglets will be named: James, Munby, self-regarding, pompous, publicity, seeking, and pillock...’
The insults were included in a writ Earl Spencer issued last month in the High Court.
He is seeking £1million damages from Sir Nicholas, solicitors Fladgate and barrister Elizabeth Clarke because, he says, they failed to warn him that changes to the law meant his divorce hearing would not be in private.
He had expected to pay £4million-£4.5million to Caroline Hutton, his second wife and mother of two of his children. But to avoid the public gaze, he settled out of court and paid her an extra £1million.
Insult: Sir Nicholas told how he had given his new litter of piglets names including Pompous, Pillock and Self-Regarding as a private slight to the Lord Justice Munby.
He says that if he had been told about the law change earlier, he would have changed his negotiating strategy.
The Earl’s new solicitor said Sir Nicholas’s ‘clear dissatisfaction’ with the judge meant the legal team should have recommended an appeal, which they allegedly did not.
But Sir Nicholas’s solicitor John Bennett dismissed the claim as having ‘no merit’ and the email as ‘irrelevant’.
A source close to Sir Nicholas said: ‘James is one of Sir Nicholas’s closest friends. It’s the sort of thing a barrister might say, if you lost a case, to make your client feel better.’
But the Earl’s solicitor Patrick Pennal said last night: ‘It is not a “private” email communication because the relationship between Earl Spencer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn was entirely professional i.e. he was acting for remuneration.’
Target: Lord Justice Munby and right, keen farmer Sir Nicholas Mostyn
Next up.
Ex City Banker John Saunders.
John Saunders OBE, Chief Executive
John Saunders is an experienced Chief Executive with a considerable record of success in complex and substantial public and private sector organisations. He was awarded an OBE in 1998 for services to British Business.
After a 20 year career in Corporate Banking, John moved to the public sector in various Chief Executive, Chair and Board Member roles. Most recently John has held Chief Executive roles during the start-up phase at the Security Industry Authority and at CIPFA. John brings strong leadership, business acumen and a thorough understanding of working in challenging and politically sensitive arenas under close public scrutiny.
Another Peter Hendy in disguise ! Looking great isnt it ?
Here’s another one.
Elizabeth Cooke, solicitor and specialising in pre nuptials and divorce.
Professor Elizabeth Cooke (Law Commissioner)
Professor Cooke began her legal career as a trainee solicitor at Withers, from 1986 to 1989 and went on to work as an assistant solicitor at Barrett and Thompson from 1989 to 1991. After completing her Masters in Property Law at the University of Reading she joined the university's School of Law as a Lecturer and then went on to become a Reader in 2001 and a professor in 2003.
Elizabeth was a member of the sub-law panel for the UK Universities'2008 Research Assessment Exercise; from 2006 to 2008 she was Chair of the University of Reading Research Ethics Committee. She has also chaired a research team funded by the Nuffield Foundation which published in 2007 a study of community of property regimes: Community of property: a regime for England and Wales.
Professor Cooke has written extensively on family law and property law.
She is currently a Law Commissioner and oversees property, family and trust law projects. The Law Commission's consultation paper, Marital Property Agreements, was published in January 2011.
As you can see folks, my CV search is once again unveiling a wealth of knowledge and expertise in our profession.
I have got more CV's to check, but is anybody else worried about Oliver Cromwell’s army of the best Cab Service in the globe being discussed and killed off by a bunch of academics with ABSOLUTEY NO KNOWLEDGE of our industry?
This folks is a professionally aimed killer blow targetting our Great London Taxi Trade.
What knowledgeable input or tangible expertise can come from a City Banker and a Divorce Specialist Lawyer?
Exactly! Diddly squat mate!
My radar is going nuts here!
Perhaps Miss Cooke wants to Divorce us from our badges eh?
It's a bloody ruse folks, you watch.
Another one of the team sent to kill us.
Frances Patterson QC. Expert in Social Care and Human Rights.
Frances was appointed the Law Commissioner for a period of five years in December 2009. She is head of Kings Chambers in Manchester and Leeds also head of the Public Law department within those chambers. Amongst many other things, Frances is also a leading practitioner in Community Care law.
The talk outlined the project and areas of law reform before looking towards the future and the publication of the Law Commission's final report on adult social care in May 2011.
It was explained that the overarching aim of the reforms is to promote or contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and the duty to access will be at the heart of the new system.
"We are suggesting that assessments are portable and that there is a clear divide between health and social care but also that there is an integration between the two" said Patterson.
Consultation for the reform showed overwhelming support for retaining a number of key legal rights and strong backing for maintaining duties to co-operate between social services and other agencies and for the proposal to introduce a duty to investigate in adult protection cases.
Frances explained that the scheme will be reviewed as a whole to make sure it can accommodate policies such as personalisation, self-directed support, prevention and the universal services, while also maintaining the strong legal rights that have been overwhelmingly supported by consultees.
What do you mean, should we crap ourselves? Of course we should!
This guy is no mug, and if anyone on the panel may be the one to have some empathy with our trade, I predict it will be this guy.
He is well taught, well-practised, genuine and extremely capable.
Prof David Ormerod
David Ormerod
Professor of Criminal Justice, Queen Mary University, London
David Ormerod joined Queen Mary in April 2007. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, and several hundred case commentaries.
David holds a number of Editorial positions. He is the Cases Editor of the Criminal Law Review and serves on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Evidence & Proof, Covert Policing Review and the Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling.
In addition, he lectures regularly for the Judicial Studies Board on Criminal Law, Serious Sexual Offences and the Law of Evidence. He recently assisted the JSB in updating the Judicial Studies Board Specimen Directions. He has acted as a consultant to the Law Commission, Home Office and the Commonwealth Secretariat. David is also a member of the national Criminal Justice Council.
He is a Barrister in the Chambers of David Etherington QC, 18 Red Lion Court.
David is a guest speaker for these webinars
And of course, every panel needs an accountant!
David Hertzell. A posh and high ranking one, but an accountant at the end of it all!
David Hertzell is one of the five Law Commissioners of England and Wales, and is responsible for commercial and common law projects including those to reform the law of insurance and sale of goods. He started his legal career with solicitors Davies Arnold Cooper in 1981 and became a partner in 1989 specialising in insurance, reinsurance and regulatory law. He was Managing Partner from 1992 – 1996 and from 2000 – 2006. He was appointed a Law Commissioner in 2007. He is an acknowledged expert on captive insurance and chaired the AIRMIC Captive Focus Group until he joined the Law Commission. David is a member of the CII, and was a member of the BSI drafting committee on risk management.
}Make no mistake folks. In judicial terms The Law Commission has a hell of a lot of clout, and queue jump many of the drawn out procedures that most specialist cases require.
This lot are holding an awful lot of power!
I believe in my heart, they are not there to either assist or listen to our trade.
I genuinely believe that they have been sent to kill us.
Over the top and melodramatic?
We shall see.
I am no alarmist for the sake of it, but...
Be afraid folks. This ain't looking good.
Here are two links to Government publications regarding this issue.
1. Click here
2. Click here
Editorial Comment:I have been reliably informed that the RMT have been working on this issue at committee level for some time and have many expert witnesses who will be giving evidence on our behalf.
What are the other trade reps in the UTG scared of when it comes to the RMT and the UCG?
I little while ago there was a meeting at the canteen at Heathrow airport where a certain LTDA rep pleaded for trade unity. When he was asked if the UTG would now consult with the RMT reps at the airport all hell broke loose.
The trade as a hole needs to know why there is so much animosity towards ordinary working drivers who have joined either the RMT or the UCG.
Oddy, Davis, Kelly the floor is all yours...Source; http://theandersonshelter.blogspot.com/
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