skippy41 wrote:
Quote:
The guy who wrote the Renfrewshire conditions is Jim Findlay (0141 840 3570) if you fancy calling him or email
He has already been informed of the price in the link from the government web site somebody sent him
he was also informed that it was a one off payment
Skippy, you are right on the figure of £150, It is mentioned several times in the Initial Regulatory Impact Assessment
Page 1
CONSULTATION DRAFT
1
INITIAL REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT (RIA)
Title of proposal
1.
The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Booking Offices) Order 2007.
Purpose and intended effect
Objectives
2.
The purpose of introducing this legislation is to provide local authorities with powers to license the operation of taxi and private hire car booking offices in the interests of preserving public safety and preventing crime.
Background
3.
Local authorities have discretionary powers under the 1982 Act to license taxis and private hire cars and their drivers operating in council areas and all Scottish licensing authorities currently do so. The 1982 Act provides that authorities must in the consideration of applications for licences for taxis and private hire cars be satisfied as to the suitability of the vehicle for its purpose and that it is safe for that use and further that the licence applicant is a fit and proper person to hold the relevant licence. In the consideration of applications for taxi/private hire car drivers licences applicants are also subject to the “fit and proper” person test.
4.
While licensing authorities have various powers under the 1982 Act to regulate the operation of taxis and private hire cars they have no powers allowing them to regulate the operation of taxi and private hire car booking offices. The absence of any licensing requirement for booking offices renders licensing authorities powerless to exert any control over the running of such businesses or indeed to investigate complaints of unlawful operation or criminal activity.
5.
The Scottish Government recognises the concerns that have been expressed over the lack of regulation for taxi and private hire car booking offices. It acknowledges that there is some evidence which suggests that some booking offices may be using unlicensed vehicles and drivers to fulfil hires and that other illegal activities may also be taking place. This is clearly to the detriment of the travelling public. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that if it is in the public interest to licence the vehicles and drivers affiliated to such businesses, it could so be argued that the business accepting such bookings should also be licensed.
6.
At present anyone who wishes to establish a taxi and/or private hire car booking business has simply to obtain the necessary radio licence from the Office of Communications (Ofcom). The procedure involves no formal check as to the suitability of radio licence applicants. Unless an applicant has previously transgressed the conditions of a previous licence, it is likely that the application will be successful.
7.
Bringing booking offices within licensing regulation would provide council enforcement officers and police with specific powers to inspect premises and records to ensure that such establishments were operating within the law. Importantly, licensing would subject those responsible for the operation of such businesses to scrutiny through criminal record checks to ensure that the applicant was a “fit and proper person” to operate such a business.
Page 2
CONSULTATION DRAFT
2
Introduction of licensing would provide licensing authorities with discretionary power to attach to any grant of licence such conditions as they consider reasonable. Consultation responses have suggested that concerns over such matters as the issue of employers’ liability insurance and compliance with health and safety and other environmental regulations arising from operation of booking offices open to the public might be addressed by way of licence conditions.
Rationale for government intervention
8.
The impact of the current position is that in the absence of any licensing requirement there are no checks carried out as to the suitability of those persons involved in the running of booking
offices. In addition businesses may in fulfilling bookings use unlicensed vehicles and drivers which have similarly not been subjected through licensing to appropriate scrutiny. Failure to introduce legislation providing for the licensing of booking offices will mean that the benefits in terms of checks as to the character of those responsible for the operation of booking offices, access for inspection of premises and records and regulatory controls provided by licensing will not be realised all to the detriment of public safety and confidence.
Consultation
Within government
9.
We have consulted with the Scottish Executive Justice Department: Police Division; Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services: Public Service Reform and Efficiency Group, and the Business Interest and Improving Regulation Division of the Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department.
Public consultation
10.
A widespread consultation exercise inviting the views of stakeholders on the merits of introducing regulations providing for the licensing of taxi and private hire car booking offices and the nature and scope of provisions that might be included in any regulations was carried out between June and September 2005 The consultation invited views from licensing authorities, representatives of the taxi and private hire trades, disability and equality groups, the National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officers, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Scottish Consumer Council and a number of other stakeholders concluded in Autumn 2005.
11.
Responses to the consultation confirmed widespread support for the principle of introducing licensing with 17 out of 19 local authority responses in favour of licensing.
12.
Consultation responses have assisted in informing the Scottish Government’s consideration of the scope of regulations set out in the draft Order.
13.
A summary of responses to the consultation and the consultation documents can be accessed at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications ... yResponses
Options
Page 3
CONSULTATION DRAFT
3
Option 1:
Do nothing.
14.
There have been repeated calls from a number of licensing authorities and the police for introduction of a licensing regime for licensing of booking offices and these were endorsed by a significant majority of respondents to the Scottish Government’s consultation concluded last year. Licensing would allow police and enforcement personnel access to premises and records and would provide for appropriate checks to be carried out as to the suitability of licence applicants thereby acting as a deterrent from criminal activity. In the circumstances, doing nothing would not address the need to have licensing in place for public safety and crime prevention.
Option 2:
Seek to introduce a voluntary code of practice.
15.
Introduction of a voluntary code of practice for the operation of booking offices is not considered a practical option in addressing allegations of criminality. Complaints and anecdotal evidence suggest that some of these businesses are associated with illegal activities e.g. money laundering and drug dealing. Attempting to address such illegal activity by means of a voluntary code of practice is not considered a practical option given that those engaged in such activity would be unlikely to comply. In addition a voluntary scheme would not provide powers of access to and inspection of premises and records afforded police and enforcement personnel under licensing regulations.
Option 3:
Introduce optional powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices.
16.
Introduction of optional licensing powers would accord with the position with regard to the licensing of taxis, private hire cars and their drivers which is an optional activity albeit that all licensing authorities do so. Were licensing to be made discretionary, however, there are concerns that businesses seeking to avoid regulation could relocate their premises to an area which chose not to license booking offices. This situation could significantly undermine the effectiveness of any legislation. Further, given the need for regulation to be seen to be addressing the concerns as to public safety, discretionary licensing could send out the wrong message in not fully supporting the rationale behind introduction of licensing powers.
Option 4:
Introduce mandatory powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices.
17.
Mandatory licensing would encourage a uniform approach to the licensing of booking offices and would preclude unscrupulous operators from relocating to unlicensed areas to avoid regulation. Licensing would subject those responsible for the operation of such activity to be subject to criminal checks through fit and proper person procedures and would act as a deterrent to criminal activity. Introduction of mandatory licensing of booking offices was supported by the majority of licensing authorities who responded to the consultation particularly those located in the central belt.
Costs and benefits
Sectors and groups affected
Page 4
CONSULTATION DRAFT
4
18.
The sectors most affected by the introduction of legislation providing for the licensing of taxi booking offices are licensing authorities, the taxi and private hire car trades and the police.
Benefits
Option 1:
Do nothing.
19.
There would be no benefits achieved over the present position whereby the operation of booking offices remains largely out with any regulatory control either by licensing authority personnel or the police.
Option 2:
Seek to introduce a voluntary code of practice.
20.
A voluntary code of practice would avoid the need for introduction of a new regulatory licensing regime which would place a new administrative burden on licensing authorities, the trade and the police. However, a voluntary code of practice might not serve to deter unscrupulous operators from engaging in unlawful activities and would not afford police/enforcement personnel the access to inspect premises and records provided under licensing powers. In addition, while licensing regulations would provide for criminal record checks to be undertaken as to the suitability of those running booking offices, as in the case of operators and drivers of taxis and private hire cars, no “fit and proper” assessment would be required under a voluntary scheme.
Option 3:
Introduce optional powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices.
21.
Introduction of optional powers providing licensing authorities with discretion as to whether to require the licensing of booking offices would be in keeping with the situation with regard to licensing for taxis and private hire cars and their drivers. Authorities would befree to determine whether there was a need for the licensing of booking offices in their areas having regard to local circumstances. However, optional licensing could result in the situation whereby booking office operators, in seeking to avoid regulatory control, could relocate to an authority area where licensing was not in place thus rendering regulations ineffective.
Option 4:
Introduce mandatory powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices.
22.
This option would ensure a uniform approach to the licensing of booking offices and would avoid the situation whereby an operator could choose to relocate to a local authority area which was not subject to a licensing requirement to avoid the scrutiny provided for under licensing regulation. Mandatory licensing would provide for fit and proper person assessment of those involved in the running of such businesses providing powers of access for inspection of premises and records to the benefit of public safety and crime prevention.
Costs
Option 1:
Do nothing.
Page 5
CONSULTATION DRAFT
5
23.
There would be no cost implications if option 1 were adopted.
Option 2:
Seek to introduce a voluntary code of practice.
24.
Costs which would be largely administrative would depend on who was responsible for drawing up a voluntary code.
Option 3:
Introduce optional powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices.
25.
Cost of this option to the trade would depend largely on the number of licensing authorities resolving to licence booking offices and hence those on whom licensing regulation will impact. Information provided by Ofcom indicates that there are up to 400 operators (taxi and private hire car) of radio base stations who hold a licence (wide area speech and data licence) in Scotland. However, a number of these base stations will control the operation of three or less vehicles (taxis or private hire cars) and will therefore be below the proposed threshold (three vehicles taxis or private hire cars) for licensing under booking office regulations. Information as to the precise number of vehicles controlled under specific Ofcom radio licences is not available and the best estimate of the number of radio licenceholders exempted from licensing under the proposed threshold is 100 (25%).
26.
In addition to those exempted via the threshold, discretionary licensing would allow authorities to determine that there was no need to license booking offices in their area hence allowing immunity from licensing for some businesses which under mandatory provisions would require to be licensed. It is difficult to estimate the number of businesses which will be affected in the absence of information on which authorities might elect not to licence booking offices or on the number of businesses over the proposed 3 vehicle threshold which might be excused licensing in these areas. Our best estimate is that around 50 businesses could be affected.
27.
Inquiries have shown that the average cost of a taxi/private hire car licence in Scotland is
£150 (based on an annual fee) and on this basis the approximate annual cost to the trade were licensing made optional would be £38,000 based on an estimated 250 businesses which would require to be licensed under this option.
28.
In addition to licensing costs it is expected that operators of booking offices would incur some administrative costs in regard to the maintenance of records of bookings etc provided for in legislation or in licensing conditions imposed by licensing authorities. However, many businesses already maintain records of vehicle bookings etc and it is not expected that any additional costs would be significant. It is likely that costs incurred by radio booking offices in relation to licensing for booking offices would be passed on to the vehicle licence holders and drivers who hire the radios and ultimately reflected in passenger fare levels although the impact on fares is unlikely to amount to more than a few pence per passenger journey.
29.
The implications for local authority expenditure of the licensing of booking offices will relate primarily to administrative costs and enforcement. These costs will however be incorporated in the licence fees charged by licensing authorities in accordance with the terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
Page 6
CONSULTATION DRAFT
6
Option 4:
Introduce mandatory powers of licensing for taxi and private hire car booking offices
30.
The introduction of mandatory licensing will require licensing authorities in all council areas to license booking offices and will consequently involve larger overall cost to the trade. On the basis that an estimated 300 radio base operators may require to be licensed under a mandatory licensing regime at an average cost per licence of
£150 the total annual cost to the trade would be of the order of £45,000.
31.
As with option 3 additional administrative costs incurred by booking offices will be offset by fees charged by these businesses for hire of radios and is likely to be reflected in a small increase in the level of customer fares. This is covered in more detail in paragraph 28 above.
32.
Costs of option 4 for local authority expenditure will relate primarily to administrative costs and enforcement. The additional costs involved in licensing for booking offices are unlikely to be substantial as licensing authorities already have licensing regimes in place for the licensing of taxis, private hire cars and their drivers. Additional costs will however be incorporated in the licence fees charged by licensing authorities in accordance with the terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
Small/micro firms impact test
33.
During our consultation process the Executive consulted with organisations representative of the taxi and private hire car trades and a number of relatively small taxi/private hire businesses. The consultation exercise carried out in Summer 2005 provided the opportunity for respondents to give their views on the impact of regulations on small businesses. Analysis of consultee responses suggested that the overall number of businesses which were likely to be covered by regulations would be relatively small with additional costs of compliance likely to be offset by increase in passenger fares.
34.
It is recognised, however, that regulation providing for blanket coverage of all businesses taking bookings for taxis or private hire cars would nonetheless place an additional burden on small/micro businesses with single vehicle businesses requiring to have three separate licences. In order to spare many small/micro businesses from the additional licensing burden the draft Order proposes that businesses operating up to a total of 3 vehicles (taxis/private hire cars) will not be regarded as a booking office in terms of the regulations and will therefore be exempt from any licensing requirement.
35.
The above conclusions are based on comments from a relatively small although representative sample of small businesses and additional views on the impact of regulations on small/micro businesses are invited through this consultation and draft Regulatory Impact Assessment. We are aware that a number of authorities liaise, through periodic meetings, with taxi/phc representative bodies on licensing issues. Any feedback from discussion at these fora on the likely impact of regulation on small business, either from those authorities, or from individual representative groups would also be welcomed.
Competition assessment
Page 7
CONSULTATION DRAFT
7
36.
Regulation would provide for the licensing of booking offices controlling the operation of taxis and private hire cars in local authority licensing areas. The effect of the introduction of an exemption threshold (three vehicles) will result in a number of businesses which arrange bookings for taxis and/or private hire cars being exempt from licensing. If licensing is made an optional activity additional businesses may be exempt from licensing. For the purposes of our comparison of costs for various options we estimate that up to 150 booking offices will be exempt from regulation under optional licensing provisions and up to 100 under mandatory licensing provisions.
37.
The Scottish Government does not consider that the proposals for licensing whether under optional or mandatory licensing will have any significant impact on competition and considers that the cost of these regulations can be justified and are proportionate to address the aims of regulations, preserving public safety and preventing crime.
38.
A competition filter is attached at Appendix A.
39. Additional costs incurred by booking offices as a result of the introduction of licensing regulation, license fees and administrative costs relating primarily to keeping of records are unlikely to be such as to impact adversely on the competitiveness of those businesses falling to be licensed under regulations or act as a deterrent to those wishing to enter the trade. Costs of compliance for those caught by regulations are likely to be the same for new entrants to the trade as for existing operators. It is anticipated that these additional costs may be passed on to those hiring radios from the booking offices and ultimately to the customer by way of increased fares.
Enforcement, sanctions and monitoring
40.
Enforcement of regulations relating to the licensing of booking offices as with other activities licensed under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 would be a matter primarily for licensing authorities and the police.
41.
In the event of a breach of a licence condition a local authority has the power to suspend or withdraw a licence. Where a breach of licensing control involves a criminal offence e.g. operating without a licence required under the 1982 Act, the police have powers to initiate criminal proceedings.
42.
The Scottish Government will wish to evaluate the effect of licensing regulations in achieving its objective, that of preserving public safety and preventing crime, after any legislation has been in place for several years.
Page 8
CONSULTATION DRAFT
8
Appendix A
Regulatory Impact Assessment – Competition filter
The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Booking Offices) Order 2007
Competition filter test questions
Question
Answer
Yes/No
Ql: In the market(s) affected by the new regulation, does any firm have more than
No
10% market share?
Q2: In the market(s) affected by the new regulation, does any firm have more than
No
20% market share?
Q3: In the market(s) affected by the new regulation, do the largest three firms together
No
have at least 50% market share?
Q4: Would the costs of the regulation affect some firms substantially more than
No
others?
Q5: Is the regulation likely to affect the market structure, changing the number or size
No
of firms?
Q6: Would the regulation lead to higher set-up costs for new or potential firms that
No
existing firms do not have to meet?
Q7: Would the regulation lead to higher ongoing costs for new or potential firms that
No
existing firms do not have to meet?
Q8: Is the sector characterised by rapid technological change?
No
Q9: Would the regulation restrict the ability of firms to choose the price, quality, range
No
or location of their products?
Questions 1-3
The taxi and private hire car trades are made up predominantly of self employed owner/drivers. Information is not available as to the proportion of the total number of licensed taxis and private hire cars which operate through a booking office/radio base. The nature of the industry is such that it is unlikely that individual firms would dominate the market to any significant extent.
Question 4
At an estimated average cost of
£150, the cost of the licence should not impact to any significant extent on some firms more than others, albeit that the cost which is expected to be a flat rate will be proportionally higher the smaller the business. Administrative costs for businesses controlling operation of greater number of vehicles may be marginally higher.
Question 5
There is no evidence to suggest that Regulation is likely to alter the structure of the taxi/phc market. Business costs attributable to licensing of booking offices will relate to licence fees
Page 9
CONSULTATION DRAFT
9
and administration costs associated with necessary record keeping and are not expected to be such level as to adversely impact upon viability or competitiveness of these businesses.
Questions 6 and 7
Introduction of regulation, for businesses requiring to be licensed, is not expected to lead to higher start up or ongoing costs for new or potential businesses when compared with like existing businesses. Costs of compliance for those businesses falling to be licensed are likely to be the same for new businesses as for existing businesses.
Question 8
The taxi/private hire car trade is not characterised by rapid technological change.
Question 9
The costs of regulation are not expected to impact to any significant extent on the level of service provided by taxi/private hire car booking offices.
Login
Register
FAQ
