Understanding Taxi & Private Hire Licensing in the UK

1. Taxi & private hire licensing Women and girls hub25 September 2019

2. Aims of the presentation In this briefing session, you can… • Learn about the UK legal and regulatory context of taxi and private hire licensing; • Understand the focus of the council’s taxi and private hire licensing team on passenger safety and public confidence; and • Check your awareness of the key areas of debate, development and consultation on taxi and private hire licensing. Andrew.White@Leeds.gov.uk

3. UK legal and regulatory context

4. UK context - Taxi & private hire overview From Department for Transport (DfT 2018): 285,400 licensed vehicles in England 360,500 licensed drivers Numbers of vehicles and drivers has increased nationally since 2015 Leeds City Council licensed the following (Dec 2018): 943 Hackney carriage drivers 5456 Private hire drivers 534 Hackney carriage vehicles 4358 Private hire vehicles 52 Private hire operators Pattern of self-employment / ‘gig economy’ 85% of Leeds drivers are from South Asian BME background (2014) More than 99% of Leeds drivers are male Nationally, 25% of all males of Pakistani background are taxi/private hire drivers, many with lower than average educational attainment, or no formal qualifications (Equality & Human Rights Commission 2013)

5. UK context - Taxi & private hire overview Who uses taxis and private hire? • Department for Transport (DfT) survey says adults with mobility difficulties use taxis or private hire 1.6 times more than those without mobility difficulties • DfTsurvey says adults with mobility difficulties use taxis or private hire for 3% of their trips, compared to 1% for those without difficulties • City centre - more than 100,000 people in Leeds city centre on a weekend night • DfT survey says women make 30% more (12 trips a year) taxi or private hire trips than men (9 trips a year) • Advice about and feedback to the council about taxi and private hire on: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/business/licensing/taxi-and-private-hire-licensing/are-you-taxi-aware

6. Taxis and private hire conditions and the law • 1847 Town Police Clauses Act – hackney carriages (taxis) • 1976 Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act – private hire vehicles, ‘fit and proper’ person test • Equality Act 2010 – drivers must provide access to people with guide dogs and wheelchairs • 2014 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (‘Jay report’) • 2015 Deregulation Act – allows sub contracting, loosens the regulations to encourage competition, new entrants • 2017-9 Leeds City Council working to harmonise some policies with other authorities • 2018 Private Members bill on taxi and private hire safety • 2018 DfT Integrated transport strategy – requirement for disability awareness training, review of availability of wheelchair accessible vehicles • 2018 DfT Taxi safety task and finish group recommends new legislation • 2019 DfT consult on ‘statutory guidance’

7. Leeds City Council

8. Leeds City Council Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Council Executive sets policy and conditions Licensing staff make licensing and enforcement decisions (not the same in every council) Taxi and Private Hire Licensing mission: We will… • Keep the travelling public safe • Improve the customer experience of our services • Build strong working relationships with the trade and other partners and agencies • http://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/are-you-taxi-aware.aspx • Email: taxiprivatehire.licensing@leeds.gov.uk

9. Leeds City Council Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Some of our key priorities, challenges • Policy reviews – via working groups – input from equality hubs • Customer experience (CX) – front of house, online, lessons learned from compliments, complaints, feedback • Enforcement/inspection focus and case management, especially accessibility, ‘cross border’ • Feedback and complaints about the trade – better understanding of trends • Keeping people safe - safeguarding and casework, night time economy • Modernise - digitisation and scanning • Driver training review – modular approach, improved capacity, transferable accreditation • Ultra low emissions vehicles (ULEV) – implications of Leeds clean air zone (CAZ) • West Yorkshire – collaboration with neighbouring authorities

10. Leeds City Council Taxi & Private Hire Licensing • It is the licensing authority’s responsibility to licence the taxi and private hire trade • The priority of local authority licensing of the taxi and private hire trade is public safety • Public safety is defined in a very broad way – passenger safety and confidence of the wider public that should they use a taxi or private hire vehicle they will be safe • Taxi and private hire drivers are in a uniquely powerful position of control over another person when they get into their vehicle unaccompanied • Private hire operators have a lot of information about passengers, e.g. when they are going away on holiday • Taxis and private hire vehicles can be driven almost anywhere and are almost invisible

11. Fit and proper person

12. Fit and proper person A licensing authority cannot grant (or allow a licence to remain in force) a taxi or private hire driver’s licence unless the applicant or licence holder is • Authorised to drive a car for at least 12 months at the time of application • Allowed to live and work in the UK • A ‘fit and proper’ person Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 s51 ‘Licensing of drivers of private hire vehicles’, s59 ‘Qualifications for drivers of hackney carriages’ A licensing authority cannot grant (or allow a licence to remain in force) a private hire operator’s licence unless the applicant or licence holder is • Allowed to live and work in the UK • A ‘fit and proper’ person Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 s55 ‘Licensing of operators of private hire vehicles’ • No such considerations for a taxi proprietor, but a complete discretion to refuse to grant a licence

13. Fit and proper person • Fit and proper = safe and suitable • "One must, as it seems to me, approach this question bearing in mind the objectives of this licensing regime which is plainly intended, among other things, to ensure so far as possible that those licensed to drive private hire vehicles are suitable persons to do so, namely that they are safe drivers with good driving records and adequate experience, sober, mentally and physically fit, honest, and not persons who would take advantage of their employment to abuse or assault passengers." Rushcliffe vs McCool (1998)

14. Fit and proper person • Would I be comfortable allowing this person to have control of a licensed vehicle that can travel anywhere, at any time of day or night without arousing suspicion, and be satisfied that he/she would not allow it to be used for criminal or other unacceptable purposes, and be confident that he/she would maintain it to an acceptable standard throughout the period of the licence? • Would you (as a member of the licensing committee or other person charged with the ability to grant a hackney carriage driver’s licence) allow your son or daughter, spouse or partner, mother or father, grandson or granddaughter or any other person for whom you care, to get into a vehicle with this person alone? • The impact on a person’s family of losing or not obtaining a licence is not a relevant consideration and is not part of the fit and proper consideration • Leeds City Council vs Hussain (2003) • Cherwell DC v Anwar (2010 & 2011)

15. Licence applications and renewals

16. Licence applications and renewals The council as a licensing authority asks for a range of information to determine whether an applicant is fit and proper to hold a licence Applying for a licence Before application: • Have held a driving licence for 12 months • Group II Medical (like an HGV driver) • Has passed taxi/private hire driving test (like advanced driving test) • After application: • Has permission to work in the UK • Has passed English & Numeracy test (like ESOL entry Level 2) • Has passed Safeguarding training • Has passed Licensing seminar (licensing law and conditions, 2 geography tests) • Has passed Customer Care training • Has registered with DBS update service for an enhanced DBS and declared any arrests, cautions or convictions • Has been previously licensed as a driver and has been refused or revoked

17. Licence applications and renewals • The council can then ask questions or request more information about any areas of concern • Previous revoked or refused licences • Arrests, cautions, convictions, or any other information in the enhanced DBS • Depending on the applicant’s answer or explanation, a decision is made about whether to issue a licence, add conditions to a licence, or refuse to grant a licence (which can be appealed at Magistrates Court) BUT • No-one is issued with a licence when the council has concerns or unaddressed questions about someone’s suitability to hold a licence • Public safety is always at the centre of the decision making process • The council must not grant a licence if it is not satisfied that someone is a fit and proper person to hold a licence Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 s57 ‘Power to require applicants to submit information’

18. Enforcement/Partnerships

19. Enforcement/Partnerships The council has a team of 2 Principal Enforcement Officers and 8 Enforcement Officers Work alternate weeks of day shifts and night shifts They cover the whole of the Leeds area, inspect around 2000 vehicles a year and investigate 60-70 complaints a month Focus on Leeds city centre 00:00-04:00 Partnership work with: • W Yorks Police/British Transport Police • Leeds BID/BACIL/Purple Flag Ambassadors • Street Angels/Angels of Freedom • Leedswatch • others

20. Enforcement/Partnerships Complaints to the council have increased in the past 3 years Largest area of complaint and largest increase – driver conduct Secondlargest is standard of driving ‘No wrong door’ for complaints https://www.leeds.gov.uk/business/licensing/taxi-and-private-hire-licensing/are-you-taxi-aware

21. Developments and Consultation

22. Developments and Consultation Many areas of development/consultation Have a different focus • National / best practice • Regional/W Yorks – common minimum standards • Leeds focus – response to issues or concerns specific to Leeds Including… • CCTV in vehicles • Common driver training standard for W Yorks • Driver suitability • Taxi vehicles and ranks • Vehicle policies / Clean Air Zone

23. Summary

24. Summary • Leeds city council is responsible for ensuring that licence holders are fit and proper persons • Leeds city council is responsible for checking vehicles observed in Leeds and licensed elsewhere • Leeds city council requires all licence holders to pass training and have an enhanced DBS check before they can work, annual DBS thereafter • Some passenger groups are more likely to use taxi and private hire than others, including unaccompanied women or girls • Leeds city council working closely with a range of organisations and volunteers in Leeds city centre at night • Many areas of development/consultation planned

25. Thanks for listening Any questions? Andrew.White@Leeds.gov.uk

26. Links/further reading • https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-2018 • https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778274/taxi-phv-licensing-protecting-users-condoc.pdf?_ga=2.187506474.323024552.1566907484-1096705536.1564563238 • https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s185907/Licensing%20Committee%20Annual%20Report%20Appendix%20A%20080319.pdf • https://www.leeds.gov.uk/business/licensing/taxi-and-private-hire-licensing/are-you-taxi-aware