has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or Wolverhampton then made it very easy to get licenced there, issued tens of thousands of licences for a population of 260,000 and therefore made the standards of private hire taxis slip in the whole country malcster_75 8 mo. Taxi drivers to face extra criminal checks, Taxi driver jailed for sex assault in cab, Taxi licence regulation 'must be tougher', Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing report, Taxi Complaints - City of Wolverhampton Council, Generations of Wolves speedway fans turn out in force to the first meeting since bombshell stadium news, Stourbridge shoppers 'intimidated by aggressive begging' in town centre. Subscribe to one or all notification sources from this one place. The court heard that Ayub frequently carried the passenger without their journeys being pre-booked through a licensed private hire vehicle operator which is illegal and contrary to Section 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Please provide number of complaints received by council in relation to uber taxis from 2015-2019, Information request ( ( (@QE ( u&?JC Wolverhampton Council, The overall figure for last year was up 25 per cent on 2018, and represented an 18-fold increase on the 833 licences the authority handed out in 2015. Wolverhampton Council currently operates a Get Home Safe campaign which seeks to make sure the public are aware of the differences between hiring hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from Before becoming a driver, there are several requirements that must be met. privacy legislation. In some case, a fee may be payable. 2. Z( sEPEaZ5 )VJZHiZ)Qj4 va@b ( Thank you for your request for information received on6 November Contact us if you think it should be reopened. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender, We use the DBS Update Service to check drivers DBS certificates every day of the week. In that year a change in the law allowed private hire drivers to operate in a different area from where they obtained a licence. ( This policy relates to surveillance cameras, also. "We would like to see a return of standards so that public safety is not put at risk.". Ebrahim Suleman, former chairman of West Midlands Private Hire Drivers Association, said "99.9% of drivers" were honest and hard working but a minority used loopholes to get a licence. Importantly, our driver conditions dictate that drivers must cooperate with reasonable requests from compliance staff authorised in other areas. privacy legislation. But it added: "We are currently developing a referral mechanism that would inform, in writing, all the relevant safeguarding, policing and licensing authorities in an area when we take action in relation to a driver licensed by us, but operating in their area.". In the last five years the city council has received applications from 325 miles away in Perth a six-hour drive from the city, and 254 miles away in Truro, Cornwall, which takes almost five hours to get to by car. might not provide that informationto you. We willcarry outan assessment <> Wolverhampton Council has always defended its position, stating that it oversees enforcement operations all over the country, and that any profits it makes from licensing are ploughed back into the scheme. Is climate change killing Australian wine? 9 0 obj Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? L thompson made this Freedom of Information request to Wolverhampton City Council ( Placing members of the public at unnecessary risk by taking a booking without valid insurance is unacceptable.. The authority said it dealt with complaints robustly, with all safeguarding issues dealt with within a day "regardless of where the driver is in the country". Email:licensing@sstaffs.gov.ukTelephone: (01902) 696000, Sign up to receive news and updates from South Staffordshire Council. ^hE/4 Ph @EPsG4R(99 (iH=iOjJ@/&R % Navdeep Nijjar The campaign also highlights the risks involved in taking an unlicensed vehicle and how to identify a legitimate taxi or private hire driver. By providing you with all the tools and contact details needed to raise and manage your complaint, we put you firmly in control of your issue. Every council in England would be told to carry out checks on all applicants. None of the councils for the areas where offences were alleged could confirm whether they had been made aware of the suspect driver operating in their area. ( Please note, if you are not willing to provide a witness statement we may be unable to process your complaint fully. endobj Once a statement is provided you may be asked to give evidence in court. Run by Volunteers and powered by Alaveteli. The city has taken on new staff in a bid to cope with demand, documents say. ofWolverhampton Council . We couldnt load the mail server logs for this message. Read about our approach to external linking. C " Concerns have also been raised over passenger safety. ^hibQE( ZJ(EPEPER ( ( ( ( ( ( (QE( E6) E:hwAKKAIKI@Q@IE QE R(4 J )hi( (i( <> Your donations keep this site and others like it running. Wolverhampton licensing bosses have insisted they informed relevant authorities when serious reports of crimes were made, but several councils have told the BBC they were unaware of the allegations. The BBC has been unable to determine whether the drivers accused of offences have faced criminal proceedings. The Council's main objective regarding taxi and private hire licensing are: If you are looking for further information about the requirements, please follow the link toWolverhampton City Council Taxi Licensing. n)=_} bRqHCD@[WP,=|B2Ho|Sc$+! The applicant is also checked against the National Anti-Fraud Networks (NAFN) National Register of Refusals, Revocations and Suspensions (NR3S). Read about our approach to external linking. stream Taxi and Private Hire licensing within South Staffordshire is administrated on behalf of the Council by the City of Wolverhampton Council's Licensing team from April 2022. Raheel Shah, chairman of Wolverhampton Private Hire Drivers' Association and a taxi driver himself, said: "We have been protesting for more than three years over this. ( In one instance, a council officer drove more than 100 miles to a suspect driver's home and "took his licence away from him on his doorstep". Navdeep Nijjar These guidelines have been consulted on with the industry, police, courts and all other councils. @RRQE%0(JZ (QE % ( You may change your settings at any time or accept the default settings. A total of 927 drivers were said to be waiting for a hearing to determine their application. It prompted licensing bosses at Wolverhampton Council to streamline its application process and slash the prices of licences leading to a dramatic increase in applications. Taxi complaints Wolverhampton City Council. Printed from https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/taxi_complaints_4?unfold=1 on May 02, 2023 00:03. Reports of child sexual exploitation are among allegations made against drivers licensed in Wolverhampton, but who also operate across England. This condition empowers officers in other areas and where drivers are breaking the law then other licensing authorities can and do prosecute them. South Staffordshire Council is handing over taxi and private hire licensing functions to Wolverhampton Council (CWC). (h-! (%P P0PH(h@ vZ( (( SocietyWorks Ltd Taxi drivers protesting in Wolverhampton last year over the city council's controversial licensing system. Has the incident been reported to the police. (Q@%- QI@EP'4s@. stream JFIF ` ` C View as HTML. ( On April 29, 2020, council officers received a. However, the authoritys dominance of the market has not gone down well with other councils, some of which have seen their own private hire applications plummet. The report made furthest from the West Midlands city came from a complainant more than 150 miles away. Councillor Philip Page, chairman of the councils regulatory committee, said: We take public safety very seriously at Wolverhampton. Police were informed in all cases, it said. It is intended solely for the addressee. Further information about the vehicles and drivers licensed for South Staffordshire are available on ourInformation for Passengers page. However, there remains no official system of ensuring all authorities are aware of suspected criminal activity, although the council "refutes any accusation" of failing to pass on details. request. It licences drivers from around the UK including Scotland, Manchester and Nottingham. Wolverhampton Council handed out a record 15,000 private hire licences last year raking in nearly 3.7 million in fees. DBS checks are also carried out on vehicle licence applicants, as well as a check that the vehicle is insured for public and/or private hire. Wolverhampton DearL Thompson Wolverhampton Council Please notify This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of We are working with industry leaders, regulators and government to make your voice heard and improve customer service. A new report to Walsalls director of public health has outlined concerns over dwindling application numbers. ( )((((QE( ( ( ( ( ( ))h9G4:9 4wE/4 sIJ ( 6 0 obj Download You therefore need a debit or credit card to make the payment.. You must also complete a DBS application (Criminal Records Check) and provide a DVLA three . Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? When questioned by council officers, Ayub, of Broadway, in Shirley, Solihull, said the increased cost was a result of coronavirus. Run by Volunteers and powered by Alaveteli. Six of the drivers in the CSE reports had their licences taken from them but the seventh complaint was not upheld. This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions (E 4.h i)h(@ E QF( jZ;PEhRCRhZ%4 ( services through our wholly owned subsidiary Magistrates dismissed Sahrish Rahat Ayubs appeal against Wolverhampton Councils decision to revoke her private hire driver licence. proceeding with your request. TheFreedom of Information Act 2000may restrict the release of some or (05798215). ( You are now required to show photoID when voting at a polling station at the elections on May 4th. Subscribe to one or all notification sources from this one place. City of Wolverhampton Council licensed Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles are referred to collectively as 'taxis' in this policy. The Council uploaded all its historic computer data to this register and all refusals by the Council are added to this register.

Angry Chad Copypasta, Shooting In Columbia, Tn Last Night, What Does No Sabo Mean In Spanish, Steve Wojciechowski Net Worth, Weather Channel Meteorologists Pregnant, Articles W