Judicial Review refused by High Court over CCTV requirement in taxis
2023
Drivers of South Cambridgeshire have had permission refused for a Judicial Review over the Council’s Policy requiring all taxis to be fitted with CCTV. Although the application was refused, the lateness of application appeared to be the main factor in the decision and was described as a “fatal flaw”. Whether therefore this judgement should be seen as a green light to Licensing Authorities to introduce similar policies or rather a sage reminder of the strict procedural rules surrounding Judicial Reviews is debatable.
South Cambridgeshire District Council made the recommendation in its revised taxi policy that CCTV be introduced in all Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles licensed in its area. The Council stated that it had ‘adequate justification to mandate the installation of CCTV in licensed vehicles’ based on crime reports relating to incidents involving taxis.
The Policy first underwent consultation in 2017, disclosing plans for CCTV in licensed vehicles and subsequently underwent several more consultations before final approval by the Licensing Committee.
The introduction of this requirement was met with multiple objections from local drivers who found the proposal irrational and who even staged protests at the Council offices. However, the Council pushed ahead with the Policy which was formally adopted in October 2022.
Following the decision by the council, the drivers launched Judicial Review proceedings against the policy and the Council’s decision to refuse to delay implementation until September 2023. The drivers argued that the Policy was irrational, disproportionate, and unfair as the amount of incidents did not justify the cost to drivers to install, as well as an invasion of privacy for the driver, driver’s families and customers which raised issues over data protection.
The Judge considered documents lodged by the Claimant and stated, "There is a fatal flaw to the application in that the policy was adopted on 21st October 2022, the application to this (High) Court on 30th March 2023 is well out of time." The Judge also went on to say, "the fact is that the Policy was adopted some 5 months previously, when under the rules of Judicial Review claims must be filed promptly and within 3 months at the latest." The Judge went on to dismiss all the points noting that none of the challenges reached the threshold for irrationality in public law.
The Council commented that the installation of CCTV in taxis has been on the agenda for several years and was delayed due to the recognised difficulties for the trade throughout the pandemic. The Council says the presence of CCTV will reduce the number of incidents of abusive and violent behaviour towards drivers as well as other users and that it should be reassuring to have an additional safety net.
Finally, the Judge ordered the drivers to pay costs of just over £4,000 to the Council.