Taxi Driver Online

Aberdeen Press and Journal

December 11, 2007 Tuesday

Call to check taxi drivers' backgrounds

Education chiefs have been urged to ensure full background checks are carried out on all taxi drivers working with schoolchildren in the north-east.

It follows concerns that eastern Europeans who are now living in the area and have landed jobs as cabbies, may not have been fully screened for previous criminal behaviour.

Peterhead councillor Sam Coull fears any convictions from their home countries may go undetected.

He has asked Aberdeenshire Council education chairman Richard Stroud for assurances that steps are being taken to prevent local schoolchildren getting into taxis driven by former criminals or even sex offenders.

Last night, the local authority admitted it no longer carried out its own checks of drivers, but relied on individual taxi firms to complete "enhanced" background assessments, which include police checks that can take several weeks to complete.

Companies will sign an agreement with the council to ensure its drivers have been assessed.

Mr Coull said last night: "Taxis are used regularly by schools, particularly in rural locations.

"And it appears that more and more immigrants are getting jobs as taxi drivers. It is vitally important that these people are given the same background checks as all other taxi drivers.

"You wouldn't put a child in a car with someone you didn't know you could trust," he said. "We cannot risk something terrible happening."

Mr Stroud, councillor for Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford, declined to comment last night.

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said that stringent checks were already being carried out on all taxi drivers contracted by the local authority.
_____________________

I can't believe that's being allowed to happen.

_________________
IDFIMH

Aberdeen Council have lost the plot altogether, They should be doing the checks by law, not the cab firms someone up there is not doing there job and needs sacked
They seem to be on a different planet up there, they even insist on a WAV that is perfectly acceptable in the rest of the country to remove part of its roof lining so they have the correct head height.

This is about our neighbouring authority skippy. Aberdeenshire council, not Aberdeen City.

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I can. They will give a badge to anyone who fills in the form and pays the fee.

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

To someone a zillion miles away, it's all the same.

_________________
IDFIMH

It does affect the city as well since half of their cabs work here, both legally and illegally.

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Golly gosh, well I never!

Times that by about 30'000 and you have the London Minicab trade.