DERBY. 

Shocking statistics reveal almost half of the 2,800 private hire taxi drivers operating in Derby have not been cleared to work by Derby City Council.

Figures obtained from other authorities show more than 1,300 cabbies have gained licences elsewhere, meaning they have not passed Derby City Council's knowledge test. The council is powerless to check drivers or vehicles in the area if they have qualified with other authorities.

The Derby Telegraph revealed last week that 254 licensed drivers had travelled as far as Rossendale in Lancashire, which has no such test, to gain their qualification but further investigation showed this was just part of the problem.

Gedling Borough Council, in Nottinghamshire, showed a total of 765 drivers with a Derby home address had obtained licences from the authority.

About 1,500 private hire drivers in the city have taken and passed the Derby test.

Derby councillor Baggy Shanker, who responsible for taxi licensing in Derby, said this was "worrying". He said: "It gives us a lack of control to assess these guys who are licensed elsewhere. We can't, by law, stop and inspect them. We simply do not know who is getting a licence to work in Derby."

A loophole in the law allows drivers with a hackney carriage licence, who can pick up fares on the street, to operate to as private hire drivers anywhere in the country. Private hire drivers are only permitted to pick up passenger who have made a prior booking,

The Derby Telegraph asked a number of councils how many licences they had handed out since the start of 2013 to drivers from Derby.

Gedling said a total of 765 had been issued since 2013 - 154 were handed out in 2013, 323 in 2014, 171 in 2015 and 117 so far in 2016.

A Gedling council spokesman said: "In May 2014, the council introduced the knowledge test as part of the fit and proper test, with the aim of improving and driving up the standards of the drivers driving Gedling licensed vehicles. There is anecdotal evidence that suggests the introduction of the knowledge test may have reduced the number of hackney carriage licences issued to people outside the Nottingham area."


The spokesman said the Gedling knowledge quiz included 25 questions on directions and local landmarks, five on conditions of licences and legislation, five on mental arithmetic and five based on knowledge of the Highway Code. Applicants must answer 75% of the questions correctly to pass.

Erewash Borough Council revealed it had issued 299 licences to Derby drivers in that time – 68 of those in 2013, 72 in 2014, 86 in 2015 and 73 so far this year. A spokeswoman for the authority said: "Local knowledge was removed from the knowledge test in 2007/08 when it was considered an unnecessary requirement with the increased use of sat navs. However, with the increase in inquiries from persons living outside the borough and those having plans not to work in Erewash, the council reintroduced local knowledge and also disability and safeguarding elements to the existing knowledge test in June 2016."

Erewash said its knowledge test addressed hackney carriage and private hire vehicle laws, disability and safeguarding issues, area knowledge and the Highway Code.

East Staffordshire Borough Council said it currently had five people licensed with a Derby address and Derbyshire Dales District Council said it had four.

Mr Shanker said the law needed to be changed nationally to put a stop to the problem. He said: "If you are a Derby driver and a Derby resident then you should qualify in Derby. I think you should be licensed by the local authority in the area you are working in, it's as simple as that."

Mark Keenan, managing director of Derby-based taxi firm Western Cars, said the numbers were "remarkable". He said: "It makes me wonder why these drivers are going there, what have they got to hide? Is there something in their personal or driving records that would prevent them from passing in Derby or can they not pass the Derby test?"

Mr Keenan said his policy was to only hire drivers with Derby City Council badges.

https://goo.gl/RGW89r

------------------------------------------------------------
CARDIFF

Dozens of taxi licences have been issued by Cardiff council over the last few years to applicants who have criminal records.

A total of 90 applications containing a criminal conviction were approved by the authority’s public protection subcommittee between January 2012 and September of this year.

The data, released after a freedom of information request, revealed that in total just over 1,000 people applied for a hackney carriage or private hire licence in that period, with 176 of those listing convictions which were considered by the subcommittee.

It is not known what any of those convictions was for.

Councils have strict policies that govern whether a licence should be granted including DBS checks – formerly known as CRB checks.

Licences must also be renewed periodically.

A spokesman said the council's policy lists offences and stipulates guidelines on how long the applicant/licence holder should be free from conviction before an application would normally be considered.

He said: “Each application is determined on its own merits and consideration is also given to the seriousness of the offence, the sentence imposed, whether there is a pattern of offending and any other factors that may be relevant.”

The spokesman said: “Offences such as murder, manslaughter, culpable homicide while driving and terrorism offences would normally be refused regardless of the criteria above unless there are exceptional mitigating circumstances.”

According to separate data, meanwhile, applications made to Cardiff council for a taxi driver’s licence between 2012 and 2015 included two with manslaughter convictions and 155 with assault or assault occasioning actual bodily harm convictions.

But, because these figures relate only to those who have applied for a licence, there is no suggestion these applicants were eventually granted one.

Since 2012, applications in Cardiff have also included 202 convictions of theft, 214 of driving with no insurance and 140 cases of driving while disqualified.

There were also three convictions for causing death by dangerous driving in the capital, with others for the same offence submitted to the authorities in Swansea and Flintshire.

One person who applied to be a Cardiff driver, and another in Swansea, also held rape convictions.

Three Rhondda Cynon Taff applications included arson convictions, while one wannabe Caerphilly taxi driver had a conviction for causing death by reckless driving. A Bridgend applicant had a kidnapping conviction.

Again, there is no evidence these drivers were given licences.

The figures were revealed following various freedom of information requests to councils around the UK submitted by the company Complete Background Screening.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/dozens-drivers-been-given-cardiff-11925624?

---------------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER

A taxi driver refused to pick up a blind war veteran because he had a guide dog.

Cabbie Emmanuel Osayande has been ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and court charges after he was prosecuted by Manchester city council for breaching equality laws.

He also faces the possibility of losing his licence.

Father-of-five Neil Eastwood, who was left severely sight impaired after an accident in 2005, said he was left ‘annoyed, embarrassed and ashamed’.

Under the Equalities Act 2010, blind people cannot be refused access or service – or given substandard access or service – simply because they have a guide dog.

Council chiefs fear many cases go unreported and urged anyone in a similar situation to come forward so investigations can be launched and action taken through the courts.

Mr Eastwood, 56, from Wythenshawe, served in Northern Ireland with the 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, during the seventies.

He’s now an active member of the charity Blind Veterans UK and spoke out to raise awareness and urge other guide dog users to report any similar issues they suffer.

Osayande, 56, of Chatwell Close, Salford, had been sent to collect him from his son’s house in Wythenshawe in February and take him to a hotel in Altrincham.

Mr Eastwood, who relies on Lenny his golden labrador retriever, said: “I rang the office and told them that I had a guide dog and told them to make sure that the driver was aware.

“The company by mistake sent two taxis and they both came almost simultaneously. I approached the first one that I saw come in. He had his window down and shouted ’sorry, I am not taking you’. He said that he would not take my dog.

“I told him that he was a working guide dog but he said he did not care.”

Mr Eastwood quoted the law but Osayande, who holds a hackney carriage licence with Rossendale council but was working for a local private hire firm, refused to take them.

He reported the matter to the council after the second taxi took him back to his hotel.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/taxi-driver-fined-refusing-pick-11937114?

Comment...This would have been an easy case to defend...However, who would want to defend a Rossendale working Wythenshawe. ?