Speaking as a former Chair of Licensing, Crawley Borough Council has always prided ourselves on having high standards and we enforced them! Every taxi driver without exception operating in the Borough had to have a licence with the council and completed a rigorous vetting process, including criminal records and medical history checks, so we knew exactly who they were and what they were driving. And we could call them in if we needed to, for any reason.
But then in 2015 the Deregulation Act was introduced and drove a coach and horses through those arrangements, allowing private hire drivers to operate anywhere in the country. We warned the then Tory Government what they were doing, but were completely ignored.
We believed, rightly as it turned out, there was the possibility of pushing licensing authorities elsewhere towards a position of competing for such business with less regard to public safety matters.
At the recent Full Council I moved a motion with Cabinet Member for Public Protection Yasmin Khan on addressing these unsatisfactory cross border taxi rules.
Our taxi standards that we set as a council matter because it is how we can satisfy ourselves that our taxi drivers are meeting an acceptable standard of service and safety. That they are fit and proper to be driving a taxi and your trusted loved ones alone.
It was unfair on our local taxi drivers licensed with us, too. Unless we wanted a race to the bottom here at this council, which we have always resisted, we expect our local taxi drivers to meet our high standards, yet they see other areas apparently where different rules applied. Different knowledge requirements of the areas they serve, the standard and age of their cars, emissions.
How is it acceptable that some local authorities are permitted to licence very large numbers of taxis that could be registered there but operating here? How easy is that for a local resident who wants to make a complaint? Indeed, how easy is it for these far away councils to enforce?
Eleven years on, we had the Uber controversy at Gatwick Airport, where examples of cross border behaviour have been most visible. Complaints about drivers’ behaviour and accusations of touting for business, but – throughout – our own licensing officers were constrained in what they could do, even though it was taking place in our Borough – because whether the Uber drivers were at fault or not, they’re all licenced by Transport for London.
The Casey report highlighted issues of safeguarding and taxis, but this wasn’t news either. Events over a decade ago in Rotherham had already demonstrated deregulation shouldn’t have reduced oversight.
The reason the Labour Group put this forward was all about upholding public safety, one of this council’s primary responsibilities. Our letter to the Government, supported by a vote of all councillors, supports minimum national standards and calls for the requirement to be reinstated that all private hire taxis and their operators must be licenced in the local authority area that the journey either starts or finishes in.
This is absolutely the right time to try again on this important subject. The Government’s consultation ended in late March – our letter adds our voices calling for an end to the lack of regulation that prevents our council officers enforcing the standards we want in our area.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council