Institute of Licensing NTC2022: Trade Talks You Can’t Miss
Each year TaxiPlus are honoured to sponsor the Institute of Licensing’s National Training Conference (NTC22). It was great to be back in person last year and we can’t wait to be back in Stratford-upon-Avon for this year's event.
The past couple of years have seen great changes happening in the world of taxi and private hire (PH). This makes the talks and resources available at the NTC22 all the more important.
To make sure you’re in the know, we’ve put together a guide of the talks you don’t want to miss if you’re in the trade.
All the times and locations stated below are provisional and subject to change. You can find the full draft of the event guide here.
Day One
Tax Conditionality: Implementation in England and Wales and introduction in Scotland and N. Ireland
Charlcote 12:15-13:00
The first talk of the conference relevant to that taxi trade is all about the new ‘Tax Conditionality’ rules. This session will be delivered by Jamie Horton and Luke Jones from HMRC
Tax conditionality was introduced for England and Wales from the 4th of April this year. HMRC expected to be able to reclaim over £2.5 billion in taxable income. It will be interesting to see how effective HMRC considers the new measure and if they can provide figures that demonstrate how useful it has been.
The tax conditionality rollout will continue in Scotland and Northern Ireland from April 1st, 2023.
A Tootle Around Current Taxi Issues
Ballroom D 14:00-14:45
As the name suggests, this session will be focussed on the current issues in the trade. Running this session will be John Garforth and Steve Wright MBE, both familiar faces at the NTC. With two of the leading industry experts presenting this talk, it’s not one to be missed.
John is the Trading Standards & Licensing Manager at Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. He is also the current vice-chair and North West Regional Director of the IoL.
Steve is the chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA). Over the past 30 years he has worked with licensing bodies and cross-party groups to improve licensing policy.
A Taxi Industry Discussion
Ballroom D 14:50-15:35
This panel discussion involves the leaders of the major trade bodies. Featuring on the panel will be:
Steve Wright MBE, LPHCA Chairman
Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA)
Andy Mahoney MBE, Managing Director of 24x7 Ltd
David Lawrie, Director of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association (NPHTA)
The draft agenda also suggests that a representative for Uber will be on the panel, although the speaker is yet to be confirmed.
Considering the level of antipathy many in the trade have towards Uber, these panel discussions could be interesting to say the least.
Department for Transport Update
Ballroom D 16:00-16:45
At the NTC21, the DfT Update was one of the most well attended sessions of the conference. This year’s session will be delivered by DfT representative, Chris Brown.
The content of this session is yet to be released but we would imagine it will focus on things like:
Tax conditionality
The success of the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards
New rules around DBS Checks
If you only attend one talk at the conference, this is definitely the one you need to attend.
Day Two
James Button on Taxis
Ballroom D 10:45-11:30
James Button is one of the leading authorities on licensing in the UK. Button is president of the IoL and principal of James Button & Co Solicitors. His sessions are always deeply informative whilst being engaging and humorous.
Taxi Licensing Reform in Wales
Ballroom D 11:35-12:20
Over the past 12 months, Welsh Government have been working closely with licensing leaders from across the country to develop recommendations for new licensing legislation. For any Welsh delegates, this session is not one to be missed.
This session will be presented by Nicolas Turner from Welsh Government and Yvonne Lewis from the City and County of Swansea.
Information Sharing – What's the Problem?
Ballroom D 13:15-14:00
Sharing information is a fundamental part of the Statutory Taxi and Private Vehicle Standards. Despite this, there has been a lot of confusion and delays over how to incorporate appropriate information sharing into current licensing regimes.
This session is run by Stephen Turner from Hull City Council and James Button.
Workshop Session: Taxi and Private Hire Licensing
Ballroom D 14:05 – 14:50
This workshop session will give attendees the chance to get stuck into a wide range of issues affecting the trade right now and gain actionable insights from experts. This session will be led by:
Stephen Turner, solicitor with Hull City Council
Andy Mahoney, Managing Director of 24x7 Group
Tallulah Belassie-Page, from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
Michelle Bignell, Service Leader (Licensing) from Tewkesbury Council
Cross Border Hiring
Charlcote 15:15-16:00
Cross-border hiring has been a contentious topic in the taxi and PH trade for a number of years now. This session will be hosted by Gerald Gouriet KC of Francis Taylor Building barristers, one of the UK’s leading licensing practitioners.
Day Three
James Button on Taxis
Packwood 11:40-12:10
This will be the same session as the one run on day two of the event for anyone who could not attend.
Insurance Fraud (Taxis and PH)
Ballroom A 11:40-12:10
Over the past year, IoL research has found that over 100 drivers have been convicted of insurance fraud. |They highlighted data that shows in times of economic downturn instances of fraud always increase.
This session is delivered by Kevin Hocter of Horwich Farrelly solicitors who carried out the research into insurance fraud in the industry.
Developments in Licensing – An LGA Update
Ballroom D 11:40-12:10
A lot has changed in the world of licensing over the past couple of years. The Local Government Association will be running this session to try and tackle the biggest changed and developments in the industry. Delegates from the LGA presenting are Jade Hall & Ellie Greenwood.
Operation Makesafe
Ballroom A 12:15-12:45
Operation Makesafe was developed by the Met Police in conjunction with London’s boroughs to raise awareness of child exploitation in the business community, including the taxi and PH sector. This session will be delivered by DC Jules Benrad from the Metropolitan Police.
Immigration in Licensing
Packwood 12:15-12:45
Since 2010, the number of non-UK nationals working in the taxi and PH industry has grown from 13% to 22%. This means immigrants now make up nearly a quarter of the workforce in the sector. Home Office delegate, Gemma Hood, will be delivering this session.
SEND Transport
Ballroom D 12:15-12:45
The speaker for this session is yet to be confirmed. However, with SEND transport representing a significant amount of contracts in the industry, this session will be important for both licensing delegates and industry reps.
Licensing Fees
Charlcote 12:15-12:45
Licensing fees have been under intense scrutiny this year with the rising cost of living. Many drivers have been citing expensive fees as a reason for not returning to the industry after the pandemic. Leo Charalambides, barrister and Journal of Licensing editor will be leading this session.
Important Information
If you’ve not booked your placed for the National Training Conference 2022, time is running out. At the time of writing there are 37 places left available. If you want to book, you can do so here.
Like last year, the conference is being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Stratford-Upon-Avon. But this year the NTC22 is being held slightly earlier than usual, between the 16th - 18th November.
If you’re coming to the conference, we’d love to see you there! We’ll have a range of goodies available for delegates so make sure you give the TaxiPlus stand a visit!