Leeds taxi drivers angry over controversial 'six point' licence rules

Around 150 taxi and private hire drivers crammed into Civic Hall’s council chamber to hear members of Leeds City Council’s licensing committee discuss concerns drivers had about the council’s suitability and convictions policy, which is set to come into force next month.

Many believed changes could mean motorists with seven or more points on their driving licence could be refused a taxi licence by the council. This is opposed to the council’s current regulations which requires applicants to have under 13 points.

Council officers clarified this wouldn’t necessarily apply to current taxi licence holders, and that, when new points were awarded for minor offences, this would be unlikely to see a licence revoked.

But unions and drivers’ associations claim proper consultation was not carried out with taxi licence holders, and that the assurances from officers were too vague.

Speaking to the meeting, Peter Davies, regional organiser for the GMB union, which represents drivers, told the committee: “Your consultation process has been real, albeit a little bit too late.

“I welcome you listening today and hearing those concerns – all we are really asking for is compromise. Nobody wants a fantastic, safe taxi service any more than the people who have packed this room out today.

“But you can get clocked at 34 in a 30 [zone] and you get caught on the way there and the way back – you’re on six points.

“To hear words like ‘this is likely’, ‘this might happen’ and ‘this can be considered’, that is not good enough for me.

“We need the consultation to be extended. Given the campaign we have seen to date, this issue is going to spread to neighbouring authorities.”

The new measures for taxi and private hire drivers were adopted by Leeds City Council’s executive committee back in November last year, and are due to come into effect in February 2020.

However, the item came before the committee due to “significant representations by hackney carriage and private hire associations, trade unions, drivers’ groups, and by private hire operators.”

Another representative, from the Unite union, claimed proper consultation was not carried out by the authority, adding: “I would like to thank you for taking it to this stage. This is like bolting the door after the horse is gone – it’s saying you are going to implement the policy but we will give you a say on the policy that already exists.

“Two hundred and fifty responses by 6,000 licence holders is not proportionate. It accounts for four per cent overall – this cannot be considered proportional.

“Not one of those I have been asked to speak on behalf of agrees with this. We will now be seeking legal advice.”

Earlier during the meeting, the item was discussed by members of the committee and Leeds City council officers, who agreed to form a working group to look further into the issue.

Coun Al Garthwaite (Lab) said: “It seems clear to me that everyone would agree the public must be kept safe, but Leeds will not remove the licence unless there are extremely good reasons based on extremely hard evidence.”

Coun Abigail Marshall (Lab) said: “Based on all the emails from the taxi drivers – if we have 240 responses, it tells us there is a big disparity.

“The drivers who have been speaking to me over the last few weeks, we have to be able to look into the consultation. We have to give some weight on how we give back to them.

“It’s not as draconian as it is made out to be – the only thing that worries me is how the consultation has been carried out.”

Coun Ryk Downes (Lib Dem) added: “There has been a consultation, it has gone through the normal process, but when you look at the level of correspondence it is clearly an emotive subject. It is of such importance, that once we develop the policy, we should keep coming back and giving the opportunity to reconsider this.”

Coun Paul Wray (Lab) said: “It comes down to communication – because of the way the information has landed, in retrospect, we have communicated in such a poor way that everyone thinks everything is going to change.

“When we are talking about things which can impact people’s livelihoods, how we communicate that matters.

Summing up, committee chair Coun Ben Garner (Lab) said: “We have discussed consultation at length – it is not automatic revocation when there are seven or more points – that is important to reiterate. As has been pointed out, this decision was sent to executive board after December 2019 committee, only they can change this.

“We have to discuss this as soon as possible, the issue of points on driving licences. Guidance about how policy will be applied on how it will be applied to existing drivers will be given to te trade as well.”

The committee then agreed to set up a working group to look into the issues, the results of which are likely to go back before the committee in the spring.