Taxi laws to be reviewed says Brighton and Hove official

The law governing taxis and private hire vehicles was out of date and would be reviewed, a senior Brighton and Hove City Council official said today (Monday 23 January).

Tim Nichols, the council’s head of planning and public protection, said that proposals for reform would be published by the government in April and a consultation would follow.

After the review, by the independent Law Commission, and the consultation, which is scheduled to last three months, the government is expected to publish a draft bill late next year.

Mr Nichols said that, locally, changes to licensing policy had been approved in the autumn after consultation with the taxi trade and others, including representatives of disabled people.

Under the changes, more licences were being granted and a wider range of wheelchair-friendly vehicles had been listed as acceptable.

Mr Nichols was giving presenting am update report on taxi licensing and the Hackney Carriage Office to the council’s Environment and Community Safety Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Committee members had been keen to learn whether concerns raised by the Fed Centre for Independent Living were being addressed.

Councillor Lizzie Deane, chairman of the council’s Licensing Committee, said: “Taxi drivers are mostly self-employed individuals and there are gaps in the law.

“We try to work with taxi drivers with goodwill.

“This is where the taxi forum comes in, for example. It meets regularly and is very well attended.”

Councillor Deane said that the Brighton and Hove Taxi Trade Forum had “an input into what goes on and the way we do things”.

She added: “We try to work with these people in partnership.”

The Fed’s chief officer Geraldine DesMoulins said: “The taxi forum is a providers’ forum. It’s not a users’ forum.

“It was so dysfunctional I made some suggestions as to how they might work together more effectively in future.

“Candidly, our voice is drowned.

“We’re not the only user group in the city. Older people, for example, would like a voice.

“You would have had a more rounded report if you had consulted more widely.

“Wheelchairs are changing and getting bigger so we would like to work more flexibly with taxi drivers to get a get a wider range (of vehicles).

“We don’t feel we have a voice and we are constantly being made promises which aren’t being fulfilled.”

Councillor Christopher Hawtree said: “It would be good to have some taxi drivers here.

“They might welcome the chance to be here with a captive audience as that’s their stock-in trade.”

Councillor Denise Cobb said that some taxis were suitable for people with certain disabilities, such as those in a wheelchair, but might not be good for a blind person and vice versa.

She defended the Taxi Trade Forum, saying that a lot of good had come out of the forum.

One concern raised on behalf of disabled people involved the difficulties and delays around ordering wheelchair-accessible cabs especially for Brighton and Hove Albion matches at Falmer.