Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy 2021(PDF)
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BASINGSTOKE AND DEANE BOROUGH COUNCIL HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE LICENSING POLICY Date of Implementation: 1 April 2021. This policy will remain valid for a period of 5 years but may be subject to review as required. Contents Page INTRODUCTION 4 DEFINITIONS 5 SCOPE 6 1 OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................... 8 2 AUTHORISED OFFICERS AND DELEGATIONS .............................................. 9 3 DRIVER LICENSING - INTRODUCTION ......................................................... 10 4 FIT & PROPER PERSON TEST ...................................................................... 11 5 DRIVER APPLICATIONS ................................................................................ 12 6 DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE (DBS)............................................. 13 7 RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK ......................................................................... 15 8 MEDICAL STANDARDS .................................................................................. 15 9 EXEMPTION TO CARRYING ASSISTANCE DOGS, WHEELCHAIRS, AND OR LUGGAGE ....................................................................................................... 15 10 DRIVER KNOWLEDGE TESTS ....................................................................... 16 11 DRIVING PROFICIENCY AND QUALIFICATIONS ......................................... 16 12 DRIVING LICENCE .......................................................................................... 17 13 DRIVER TRAINING ......................................................................................... 17 14 WHEELCHAIR LOADING ASSESSMENT FOR LICENSED VEHICLES ......... 17 15 CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT .......................................................................... 18 16 DRIVER DRESS CODE ................................................................................... 18 17 CHANGE OF DETAILS, NAME OR ADDRESS ............................................... 18 18 RENEWAL OF DRIVER LICENCES ................................................................ 18 19 RENEWAL AND LAPSED EXISTING LICENCES ........................................... 19 20 PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE ..................................................................... 19 21 DRIVER LICENCE TERMS ............................................................................. 20 22 HACKNEY CARRIAGES AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES ............................. 21 23 INSURANCE WRITE-OFFS ............................................................................. 25 24 ACCIDENTS .................................................................................................... 25 25 REPLACEMENT VEHICLES FOR VEHICLES INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT 25 26 VEHICLE TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS ...................................................... 26 27 LOST PROPERTY ........................................................................................... 26 28 SPOT CHECKS ............................................................................................... 27 Page 2 of 126 29 WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES ....................................................... 27 30 HACKNEY CARRIAGE VEHICLES (HCV) ...................................................... 28 31 TAXI RANKS .................................................................................................... 30 32 HCV WORKING FROM A BASE ...................................................................... 30 33 PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES (PHV) ................................................................... 31 34 LIMOUSINES AND EXECUTIVE HIRE ............................................................ 32 35 PRIVATE HIRE OPERATOR LICENSING ....................................................... 34 36 APPLICATION PROCEDURE.......................................................................... 35 37 ENFORCEMENT COMPLIANCE AND COMPLAINTS .................................... 36 38 LICENSING APPEAL HEARINGS ................................................................... 37 39 FEES ................................................................................................................ 39 40 CONSULTATION ............................................................................................. 41 41 APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 42 APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................... 43 APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................... 50 APPENDIX C .......................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX D .......................................................................................................... 64 Appendix E ............................................................................................................. 68 APPENDIX F .......................................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX G ......................................................................................................... 73 APPENDIX H .......................................................................................................... 99 APPENDIX I ......................................................................................................... 105 APPENDIX J ........................................................................................................ 108 APPENDIX K ........................................................................................................ 111 APPENDIX L ........................................................................................................ 114 APPENDIX M ....................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX N ........................................................................................................ 119 APPENDIX O……………………………………………………………………………..124 Page 3 of 126 ABBREVIATIONS USED WITHIN THIS POLICY: HCV HACKNEY CARRIAGE HCD HACKNEY CARRIAGE VEHICLE/S DRIVER/S PHV PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE/S PHD PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER/S PHO PRIVATE HIRE OPERATOR BLT BLUE LAMP TRUST BDBC BASINGSTOKE AND DEANE BOROUGH COUNCIL DBS DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE DVSA DRIVER AND VEHICLE STANDARDS AGENCY ECWVTA EUROPEAN COMMISSION WHOLE VEHICLE TYPE APPROVAL INTRODUCTION This is the Statement of Licensing Policy as determined by the council as the Licensing Authority in respect of its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensing functions. This document sets out the position and expectations of the Licensing Authority in respect of the discharge of its licensing function. This policy seeks to set a standard that has the primary intention of protecting the public travelling in licensed vehicles and sets out how the council intends to do this within the existing legislative framework and other constraints. It is designed to promote professional conduct by licence holders, to increase their awareness of regulatory controls and safeguarding issues, and to allow those that share the council’s commitment to a high standard of service to thrive. The policy will deter disreputable individuals from operating within the licensed trade in this Borough. Society takes the provision of such a service, whether private hire vehicles (PHV) or hackney carriage vehicles (HCV, commonly known as taxis), largely for granted and expects that their journeys will be without incident or concern. The council also promotes that view and that licensed services must be reliable, safe, efficient and effectively delivered in a safe and professional manner. The Jay report into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham and the subsequent Corporate Governance Inspection led by Louise Casey CB identified issues, amongst which was the importance of having effective regulatory and enforcement functions in preventing and disrupting CSE. This has also been supported by the Department for Transports (DfT) Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, issued July 2020. The taxi licensing function has a key role to achieve this. At the heart of this new policy lies a commitment to the protection of the public, safeguarding children and the Page 4 of 126 vulnerable and the prevention of crime and disorder and to maintain high licensing standards. The council aims to ensure that drivers, operators and vehicles licensed within the Borough conduct their business to the highest standards and can be held to account for their performance, but also to ensure that each of our licensing requirements are suitably justified and proportionate to the risks we seek to address and that the costs incurred are commensurate to the benefits. The council recognises the important role that HCV’s and PHV’s and their drivers play in enabling people to travel around the borough in comfort and safety, and in doing so each individual driver has a role in portraying and promoting the image of the borough. This revised policy will be the subject of consultation with major stakeholders and the trade and the council is grateful to all those who contributed their comments. The document is not a full and authoritative statement of the law or statutory guidance and does not constitute professional or legal advice. The council welcomes comments and observations on this Statement of Licensing