What You Need to Know About The New Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill
A number of new rules and regulations have been introduced for the taxi and private hire (PH) industry this year. Following the introduction of statutory rules earlier this year, the new Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill will be another big shakeup for licensing authorities.
What does the Bill propose?
The aim of this Bill is to improve the safety of passengers using taxi or PH services. According to Parliamentary Explanatory Notes, the Bill proposes two key provisions that will affect licensing authorities:
Licensing authorities in England must input into a central database instances where the authority has suspended, revoked, refused to grant or refused to renew a taxi or PHV driver’s licence because of certain safeguarding or road safety concerns relating to that driver. Other licensing authorities in England must then have regard to that information when considering whether to grant or renew a taxi or PHV driver’s licence.
Licensing authorities in England to report certain serious safeguarding or road safety concerns about a taxi or PHV driver working in its area to the licensing authority in England, Wales or Scotland that granted a licence to that driver. Licensing authorities must then have regard to any such reports received and to consider whether the relevant taxi or PHV driver should remain licensed.
Isn’t there already a database for this information?
There is indeed already a database for the recording of adverse licensing information. The Local Government Association (LGA) helped establish the National Register of Licence Revocations and Refusals (NR3) back in 2018. This is a voluntary register used by around 90% of licensing authorities. Although using this register is recommended under the Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards, it is not compulsory.
The new Bill aims to make the use of some kind of database for recording and sharing this information a statutory requirement. It is thought that the NR3 will be the database used to support the Bill, although this hasn’t been confirmed. But it would make sense considering it is a database that is already used for the purposes described in the new Bill.
Why is this important?
This new Bill is important because the current legislation can be exploited by those that have been refused a licence or had their licence revoked. As licensing authorities have no statutory obligation to share information, drivers who have committed offences can try and obtain a licence in a different area. This potentially leaves passengers at risk.
When is the Bill being introduced?
As with any piece of new legislation, it could take some time before it is finalised. However, it seems there are no oppositions to the Bill so it could go through Parliament quite quickly.
The second reading of the Bill happened on September the 10th and it has now gone into the committee stage in the House of Commons. Following this, a report will be produced and then a third reading will happen in the Commons. The Bill will then need to go through the same process in the House of Lords before it receives Royal Assent and becomes law.
It‘s a changing industry, and it can be hard to keep track of all the news and events. To be sure you’re up to date, make sure you follow us on social media to stay in the know. For a frank and unbiased discussion of industry news, you can also check out our ‘What Time You On ‘Til?’ podcast, available on all major platforms.