Agenda item

The Committee had before it a report which sought its agreement for the Licensing Section to find suitable alternative providers to carry out an equivalent to the Driver, Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) Taxi Driver Assessment course which was to cease as of 31 December 2016.

The Committee recalled that, at its meeting held on 16 December 2014, it had reaffirmed the Council’s policy requirement that all new applicants for a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence must pass a DVSA Taxi Drivers Assessment. This was one of a number of prerequisites for the grant of such a licence including the Passenger Assisted Training and driver suitability and knowledge tests.

The Committee, in consultation with the local taxi and private hire trades, had introduced all of those prerequisites in order to maintain and improve the standards of driver and passenger safety and encourage applicants to regard taxi driving as a professional long-term occupation in Tendring.

It was felt that this ethos could be put in jeopardy by the DVSA’s announcement on 31 August 2016 that they would be ceasing all Taxi Driver Assessments as from 31 December 2016 as the demand for those tests was outstripping the DVSA’s capacity to meet that demand. The DVSA had advised Licensing Authorities, in a letter dated 31 August 2016, that they did not have enough test examiners and needed to prioritise their resources to reduce waiting times for those waiting to take ordinary driver’s licence tests. Indeed, the Licensing Manager reported anecdotal evidence that many DVSA test centres had already stopped taking any new bookings for taxi driver assessments.

In an effort to enable the Council to continue with its policy of a mandatory taxi drivers assessment the Licensing Manager had sought out alternative service providers. Three alternative companies/organisations had so far come to light namely:

(i)            The Blue Lamp Trust;

(ii)           Diamond Advanced Motorists; and

(iii)          Green Penny.

It was the view of the Licensing Manager that The Blue Lamp Trust best offered a reasonable equivalent service and assessment to the current DVSA taxi driver assessment and was also an organisation accredited by the DVSA. Members expressed their preference that new applicants were given a choice of taxi driver test providers so that they had flexibility on price and availability but that they must be accredited by the DVSA and that the test was the same or at an equivalent level. The Licensing Manager concurred and stated that he was aware of a number of such companies/organisations.

Having considered all of the information and advice given by the Licensing Manager both in his written report and orally at the meeting, it was moved by Councillor V E Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor Bray and:-

RESOLVED that the Committee agrees the following actions namely to:

(a)       continue requiring all new applicants for Tendring District hackney carriage and private hire drivers’ licences to take and pass a Taxi Drivers Assessment equivalent to the standard required by the DVSA Taxi Drivers Assessment and with an accredited company or organisation

(b)       allow new applicants for Tendring District hackney carriage and private hire drivers’ licences the flexibility to choose the service provider for a DVSA standard taxi driver assessment that suits their needs on locality and price of the test; and

(c)       continue to reserve the right to require existing Tendring District licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers to take and pass a DVSA Taxi Drivers Assessment should it be deemed necessary by the Committee to do so for education and/or remedial purposes.