Taxi licensing update - Law Commission Taxi Report published

Today the Law Commission published its long awaited report and draft Bill on taxi law reform. A lot of the content had been revealed earlier but there are some new ideas and there is now the opportunity to see the proposals in concrete form.

In brief the proposals are as follows.

• Taxi and private hire licensing will remain a local authority (and TfL in London) function, referred to as the licensing authority. There will be an initial internal appeal process against refusals etc., followed by appeals to the magistrates' court. There will also be a "Judicial Review Lite" mechanism to challenge policy in the County Court. In addition there will be new powers for licensing authorities to create and modify taxi zones.
• The 2 tier system (to be called taxis and private hire vehicles (PHV)) will be retained with taxis able to take "there and then" hirings, and PHVs prohibited from doing the same.
• PHV dispatchers (those who send the vehicle and driver) will require licensing but those who advertise and accept the bookings will not.
• Private hire drivers and vehicles licensed anywhere will be able to work for any private hire dispatcher.
• There will be a national minimum standard for PHVs and taxis (to be set by Regulations) with the possibility of higher or additional standards for taxis set locally. In addition there will be basic national standards for drivers and dispatchers.
• Quantity restrictions for taxis would remain possible based on the test of public interest (as opposed one may demand), but sale of plates would only be allowed in existing limited areas.
• There will be a duty to stop when hailed placed upon taxi drivers if this requirement is applied by the licensing authority.
• Licensing Authority offices will have powers to stop and inspect vehicles and issue fixed penalty notices, irrespective of where the vehicle is licensed.

This is a very brief digest of 280 pages of report and 77 clauses and a schedule in the draft Bill for which we are indebted to James Button of James Button & Co.

www.jamesbutton.co.uk