Taxi Driver Online

Shropshire Council’s action over taxi drivers ‘illegal’

August 30, 2012 19:00

Shropshire Council is acting illegally by allowing taxi drivers to work across the county without valid licences, a national taxi association said today.

In a letter leaked to the Shropshire Star, it is claimed the local authority has been sending out ‘written permission’ to hackney carriage taxis and private hire drivers allowing them to carry on picking up passengers despite having expired licences.

It says it is due to delays by the CRB and DVLA in processing the new licences and the fact it is ‘unable’ to issue temporary badges.

The National Private Hire Association has urged council leader Keith Barrow to conduct an urgent investigation after saying the council was acting unlawfully by making such claims, which is putting drivers and passengers at risk by invalidating insurances.

In the letter about a renewal licence application Janet Gadd, licensing officer at Shropshire Council, said: “I write to inform you that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and DVLA have not yet processed your disclosure.

“In view of the fact that your old badge is due to expire and as, at this moment in time, we are unable to issue you with a temporary badge and licence, please accept this letter as authorisation for you to continue to drive using your expired badge.”

She added the drivers should keep the letter with them when they were working.

But Donna Short, director of the National Private Hire Association, said: “We believe the above request is unlawful under existing legislation, and would put the licence holder at risk if he/she is carrying fare paying passengers under these circumstances.”

Councillor Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council cabinet member for public protection, said: “The letter that the licensing section used to issue is in effect a licence, or as it states, it is an ‘authorisation’ for the driver to continue. If the driver therefore has licence from the council to continue driving, he or she could not be prosecuted under the legislation. The practice has now changed and the council is now granting interim licences under the 1976 Act.”

Source; http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2012 ... s-illegal/

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

You really couldn't make it up.

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IDFIMH

Wait for the next episode expired plates, I joke not
Mal

A driver is either licensed, or he is not.

To be licensed he must have an up-to-date license, there are no other ways of being licensed no matter what this council says.

Issue the lads with temp licenses while they wait.

It's not f***ing rocket science and happens throughout the country.

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IDFIMH

My council did that with me once it took 16 weeks for the crb the forms only being sent to me 3 weeks before badge due but the council refused to issue the license until they had got the crb back and eventually issued a temp badge. to me as an existing driver this is ridiculous I can never understand why they cannot issue your badge and if anything bad does show up on your crb they can always revoke it

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

You are just a tad late. I posted on here earlier this year that our council issued a letter to one of the drivers stating that he was ok to drive his cab with expired plates and a couple of weeks later a driver was told that he could drive even though his badge had expired.

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Grandad,

happens every month with us. numerous drivers have questioned the delay in processing their applications, only to be told it's the police's fault.

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My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.