Taxi and private hire car licensing: guidance - third edition

Chapter 8 – drivers

Duration of Licences

8.1 The process of renewing licences, as with granting new licences, is an important element of ensuring public safety and preventing criminality in the trade. While a three year licence is the legal maximum, licensing authorities should consider carefully whether this length of time between renewal provides an appropriate level of scrutiny. There is a balance to be struck between a policy which is not an undue burden on drivers and licensing authorities alike and one which provides reassurance to the travelling public.

8.2 While a three year licence can be good practice for licence holders that present no cause for concern, licensing authorities may wish to consider annual licences for new applicants or where they feel a more frequent level of scrutiny is required.

8.3 An annual licence may also be preferred by some drivers. That may be because they have plans to move to a different job or a different area, or because they cannot easily pay the fee for a three-year licence, if it is larger than the fee for an annual one.

8.4 It can therefore be good practice for licensing authorities to offer drivers the choice of an annual licence or a three year licence.

Criminal Record Checks

8.5 Applications for grant or renewal of taxi and private hire car and driver licences are required in terms of section 4 and paragraph 2(1) of schedule 1 of the 1982 Act to be copied to the Chief Constable.

8.6 Generally applicants should:

• Be able to live and work legally in the UK;
• Be medically fit to drive;
• Have held, for a continuous period of one year prior to the date their application is lodged, a Driving Licence that entitles them to drive in the UK
• From October 2023, have completed the tax check and provided a unique HMRC reference number (see Chapter 7 for full details); and

8.7 A licensing authority shall refuse an application for the grant or renewal of a licence if the applicant is disqualified or is not a fit and proper person to be a holder of the licence.

8.8 The weight to be attached to convictions in the consideration as to the suitability of an applicant is a matter for the determination of the relevant licensing authority. In considering an individual's criminal record, local licensing authorities will want to consider each case on its own merits, but they will doubtless take a particularly cautious view of any offences involving violence, and especially sexual in nature. In order to achieve consistency, and thus reduce the risk of successful legal challenge, local authorities will ideally want to have a clear policy for the consideration of criminal records.

Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme.

8.9 The Scottish Government introduced the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme in 2011. Disclosure Scotland manages the PVG scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government. This is a membership scheme for people who work with children or protected adults. It helps ensure that people who are unsuitable to work with these groups cannot do this type of work. Disclosure Scotland keeps a list of people who are barred from working with children and protected adults. The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 aims to make the disclosure process in Scotland simpler and easier to understand

8.10 The PVG Scheme can include taxi/private hire car drivers contracted to undertake regulated work in relation to the provision of transport to vulnerable groups. Detailed information and guidance on the PVG scheme can be accessed on the mygov.scot website.

Criminal Record Checks from out with the UK

8.11 Where appropriate, local licensing authorities will want to consider a policy on applicants from other countries. One approach is to require applicants to provide details of any countries outside the UK that they have lived in for a period of 6 months or more since they were born. For each country they have lived in since the age of 16, they must produce a criminal record check for that country. This is required to evidence whether you have been convicted of any offences whilst living in that country.

8.12 Guidance in relation to 'Criminal records checks for overseas applicants' can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Evidence of right to live and work in the UK

8.13 From 1 December 2016 Local Authorities have a statutory duty under the Immigration Act 2016 to check and verify that every applicant has the right to live in the UK and work as a Taxi Driver or Private Hire Car Driver.

8.14 Applicants must provide certain original documents to evidence your right to live and work in the UK. If they cannot provide the required evidence the application cannot be granted. The types of documents that can be accepted as evidence have been prescribed by the Home Office. The Home Office issued Guidance in December 2021 for licensing authorities to prevent illegal working in the taxi and private hire car sector in Scotland. The Guidance on the GOV.UK website 'Licensing authority guide to right to work checks' was further updated in August 2022, and is now presented as one document covering all of the UK.

Immigration Status

8.15 The Guidance referenced in paragraph 8.14 sets out that licensing authorities are under a duty not to issue licences to people who are disqualified from holding them by their immigration status.

8.16 In determining whether someone is disqualified, licensing authorities are under a statutory duty to have regard to the Home Office guidance.

8.17 The requirement to check the immigration status of licence applicants does not amend or replace the existing 'fit and proper' person test that licensing authorities must perform; this includes obtaining a Certificate of Good Conduct for applicants who have resided abroad for a period of time.

8.18 A person is disqualified from holding a private hire car and taxi driver licence, and a booking office licence by reason of their immigration status if:

• the person requires permission to enter or remain in the UK and has not been granted it; or
• the person's permission to enter or remain in the UK
• is invalid,
• has ceased to have effect (whether by reason of curtailment, revocation, cancellation, passage of time, or otherwise), or
• is subject to a condition preventing the person from doing work of that kind.

8.19 A person is also disqualified from holding a licence if they are subject to a condition on their permission to be in the UK preventing them from holding a licence, for example, they are subject to an immigration restriction that does not permit them to work or undertake work as private hire car, taxi driver or booking officer.

Age Limits

8.20 It does not seem necessary to set a maximum age limit for drivers provided that regular medical checks are made. Nor do minimum age limits, beyond the statutory periods for holding a full driver licence, seem appropriate. Applicants should be assessed on their individual merits.

Medical Fitness

8.21 The DVLA has two standards Group 1 and Group 2, which relate to the types of vehicle which are being driven. Group 1 generally covers cars and motorbikes and Group 2 generally covers HGV (category C) large lorries and buses.

8.22 The medical standards for both of these groups are set out in the DVLA's Guidance for medical practitioners 'Assessing fitness to drive – a guide for medical professionals'.

8.23 The DVLA states that the medical standards for Group 2 drivers are substantially higher than for Group 1 drivers. They explain that this is not only due to the size and weight of the vehicle but also because of the length of time an occupational driver typically spends at the wheel.

8.24 The DVLA Guidance (as updated) sets out that the responsibility for determining medical standards against which applicants and licence holders will be assessed rests with the licensing authority:

'Responsibility for determining any higher standards and medical requirements for taxi drivers, over and above the driver licensing requirements, rests with Transport for London in the Metropolitan area, or the local council in all other areas.'

8.25 The DVLA Guidance also provides the following information for employers:

'Decisions taken by employers on the use and application of the GB standards on fitness to drive in particular circumstances and as they relate to employees are for the employer to make. Any responsibility for determining higher medical standards, over and above these licensing requirements, rests with the individual force, service or other relevant body.'

8.26 As taxi and private hire car drivers are occupational drivers who spend a considerable length of time at the wheel, licensing authorities may consider that the DVLA Group 2 medical standard is appropriate but this is for each licensing authority to determine.

8.27 Although the Group 2 medical standard precludes the licensing of drivers with insulin treated diabetes, exceptional arrangements exist for drivers with insulin treated diabetes, that can meet specified medical criteria, to obtain a licence to drive category C1 vehicles (i.e. 3500-7500 kgs lorries).

8.28 It is therefore recommended that best practice is to apply the C1 standards to taxi and private hire car drivers with insulin treated diabetes.

Driving Experience

8.29 An applicant for a taxi or private hire car driver's licence under Section 13 of the 1982 Act must have held a DVLA issued driving licence for the 12 month period immediately prior to the date of their application.

8.30 This applies to first applications and renewals. This is to ensure that an applicant has recent driving experience prior to applying for a licence.

Driving Proficiency

8.31 Many licensing authorities rely on the standard car driving licence as evidence of driving proficiency in regard to applications for taxi driver licences. Others require some further driving test to be taken.

8.32 Local licensing authorities will want to consider carefully whether this produces benefits which are commensurate with the costs involved for would-be drivers, the costs being in terms of both money and broader obstacles to entry to the trade. However, they will note that the Driving Standards Agency provides a driving assessment specifically designed for taxis.

Training

8.33 It is good practice for licensing authorities to have minimum training requirements for taxi drivers which require to be met at first grant of a licence or at renewal.

8.34 Such training will typically cover matters such as customer care, disability awareness, managing conflict, road safety etc.

8.35 The Scottish Government commends as best practice the importance of such vocational training for drivers and would encourage authorities to adopt a positive approach to vocational training. While the 1982 Act does not provide that private hire car driver applicants must satisfy an authority as to their competence in the above matters prior to obtaining a licence, authorities may wish to require as a condition of licence that these drivers undergo appropriate training. The Scottish Government would commend as best practice any conditions of licence that seek to raise the standards within the taxi and private hire car trades.

8.36 Go Skills is the Sector Skills Council for passenger transport and can offer authorities professional advice and support on best practice in regard to vocational training for the taxi and private hire trades through its regional network of Business Advisers. Training can cover customer care (including how best to meet the needs of people with disabilities and other sections of the community, how to defuse difficult situations and manage conflict.), relevant legislation, road safety, eco-friendly driving, the use of maps and GPS and the handling of emergencies.

Topographical Knowledge

8.37 Taxi and private hire car drivers should have a good working knowledge of the area for which they are licensed. Many licensing authorities require prospective taxi and private hire car drivers to pass a test of local topographical knowledge as a condition of first grant of a licence.

8.38 If a licensing authority does require prospective taxi and private hire car drivers to take such a test, the stringency of the test should reflect the complexity or otherwise of the local geography, on the principle of ensuring that barriers to entry are not unnecessarily high.