Licensing Section - Licensing Penalty Points Scheme for the Private Hire and Taxi Trade

Overview

 The Council would like to consult with you on the introduction of a new Licensing Penalty Points Scheme for the Private Hire and Taxi trade.

The Council’s key responsibility under the licensing legislation has always been, and more significantly after the lessons learned post Child Sexual Exploitation matters, to ensure that only fit and proper persons become and remain as licensed Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Drivers or Operators. This is to ensure the safety of those using these services and the public in general.

The Penalty Points Scheme is designed to identify those drivers, vehicle proprietors or operators who repeatedly behave in a manner which, if taken as a whole, indicates that they are not fit and proper persons to hold a licence. It intends to record misdemeanours and to act as a record of those drivers’, vehicle proprietor’s or operator’s behaviour and conduct.

The Penalty Points Scheme intends to improve the level of compliance and intends to help improve the standards, safety and protection of not only of the licensed drivers/persons, but also the travelling members of the public, safeguarding their welfare and interests.

It is intended that the Penalty points will remain current for 12 months, from the date the penalty points were issued following Officer’s investigation, on a driver’s, vehicle proprietors, operator’s record. The period is on a roll forward basis, so as to allow any older points to be considered as spent and therefore excluded from the running total recorded against any individual licensee.

Where a licensee accumulates 12 or more points in any 12 month period, the matter will be referred to the Council’s Licensing Panel for the Panel to decide whether the driver is a fit and proper person. The Licensing Panel may issue a warning to the Licensee or impose other sanctions such as the suspension or revocation of a licence, depending upon the circumstances. Periods of suspension of a licence by a Panel will be dependent on the nature of the breaches of the legislation/conditions and the compliance history of the individual.

The Licensee may appeal any points issued by an Officer to the Licensing Panel within 21 days from the date the Penalty Points were issued.

All the relevant documents are available to download below.

If you want to make comments or provide us your views on this proposal, please do so in writing by midnight on 26th January 2014.