Taxi Driver Online

Kudos to TaxiPoint for finding these things - another parliamentary question

But TaxiPoint seems to be saying this 'pours water' over the possibility of uniform standards across England. Not so sure about that - it might just be a holding answer kind of stating the obvious without signalling anything in particular one way or the other. But if TaxiPoint is correct then it looks like any future reform via Parliament will be limited in scope.

Also, how is the stuff below consistent with Labour's devolution stuff and amalgamating local authorities etc

Which suggest to me that the answer below is just going through the motions rather than sending any significant signals.




Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-on-Avon

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to require local authorities to use the same licensing regulations for (a) private hire vehicles and (b) taxis.


Simon Lightwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime. Under this system licensing authorities have the flexibility to set standards they consider appropriate.

The Department for Transport has however issued statutory and best practice guidance to assist licensing authorities with this function, to promote safe and accessible services through proportionate regulation. This should increase consistency in requirements and policies for taxis and private hire vehicles.

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?i ... 03.28191.h

And a related point that comes to mind - why is the TaxiPoint survey punting the James Button plan about having one central PH licensing authority under the existing legislation?

Was never going to happen, because it would require all 300 or so licensing authorities to agree on a uniform standard

And the minister's answer above in fact provides some indication as to why such agreement simply would not happen

On the other hand the answer does illustrate the tension and contradiction between local licensing requirements and the DfT's ongoing push to standardise stuff via the best practice guidance and the NR3 database etc.

But which in turn underlines why the Button plan was always a non-starter...

There would be no reason for the Devolution process if central government were going to set hard and fast rules for the country.

The early suggestion down here, as one of the first areas to take up the Devolution process, is basically they can if they choose to, re-write existing laws. Cross-border being a good example.

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