The Council has attached Conditions to my Hackney Carriage and/or Private Hire Drivers Licence. I am unhappy with those Conditions. What can I do about it?
The Council is entitled to attach such conditions to a Licence as they consider "reasonably necessary". Generally speaking a Council will draft a set of "Blanket Conditions" which are designed to apply to the whole of the trade. Additionally a driver may have extra conditions attached to his/her Licence as a result of some past event for example.
A Council cannot impose conditions of Licence on a Hackney Carriage Driver that purport to regulate his/her conduct. The conduct of a Hackney Carriage Driver must be regulated by Local By-Laws. (see s68 Town Police Clauses Act 1847) For example a Condition of Licence that prohibits a driver from smoking in his/her Hackney Carriage is unenforceable as would be a Condition, which states that drivers of a Hackney Carriage shall not wear jeans when he/she is driving. The conduct of Private Hire Drivers can be covered by Conditions of Licence, but those conditions must be "reasonably necessary".
What is reasonably necessary will undoubtedly come down to questions of fact and what may be reasonably necessary in one area may not be necessary in another.
Any condition(s) of Licence that a Private Hire Driver is unhappy with, or as the law puts it "aggrieved with" can be challenged at the Magistrates Court at first instance and in some limited cases at the High Court by way of Judicial Review.
From the time "Notice" of the Conditions has been served on a Driver, he/she has 21 days in which to lodge an Appeal to the Magistrates Court. In order to lodge an Appeal the Driver or his/her solicitor must lodge a Summons of Complaint at the Magistrates Court within a 21-day period. In the case of a Hackney Carriage Driver the Appeal is to the Crown Court. The Summons of Complaint will state the Drivers name and address and the Driver will then be known as the Appellant. An officer of the Council will usually be named as the Respondent, and the usual officer to name is the Chief Executive. The Council's address will also have to be included in the Summons of Complaint as well as short form details of the decision reached.
There are some legal details that have to be included also, and in particular the Legislation that gives the Applicant the right to Appeal. In the case of a Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence the Statutory right can be found at Section 7 Public Health Act (Amendment Act 1907) and for Private Hire Drivers the right is enshrined in Section 52 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. The procedure for lodging the Appeal is pursuant to sections 300-302 Public Health Act 1936. This information should also be included in the Summons of Complaint.
Once the Appeal has been lodged, it will usually take between 2 & 3 months before the matter goes before the Court for a contested hearing. It is probable that the matter will go before the Court for a Pre Trial Review before the case is finally heard. This is to enable the parties to agree a time scale for the Appeal (usually a half day). Other matters such as witness availability and any legal issues can also be ironed out, so as to ensure the Appeal runs smoothly.
LEGAL AID IS NOT USUALLY AVAILABLE FOR AN APPEAL OF THIS NATURE.
THE CONDITIONS ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE FOR THE 21 DAYS THAT THE DRIVER HAS IN WHICH TO LODGE AN APPEAL AND IF AN APPEAL IS LODGED THE CONDITIONS WILL NOT BE ENFORCEABLE PENDING THE OUTCOME OF THE APPEAL. This right is provided for at s77 of the Act of 1976. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS MAY BE WHERE THE DRIVER HAS HAD THE LICENCE ISSUED FOR THE FIRST TIME OR ON A LATE RENEWAL.
At the actual Appeal itself, the parties will usually have prepared a bundle of documents each in support of their respective cases. EXPERT EVIDENCE IS USUALLY HELPFUL IN CASES OF THIS NATURE.
There is only a limited amount of case law currently available on this issue.
After the Court has heard all of the evidence and heard submissions by each party, it will retire to reach a decision.
When the decision has been given, the Court must also state the reasons why it reached the decision it has. Failure to give reasons can in some cases give rise to the decision being quashed by way of Judicial Review.
A Private Hire Driver who loses the Appeal has a further right of Appeal to the Crown Court and any such Appeal must again be lodged within 21 days of the Magistrates decision. In limited circumstances the matter can be referred to the High Court by way of "Case Stated".
If the Driver wins the Appeal, the Council must abandon the offending Condition(s) of Licence.
.COSTS. As indicated above, Legal Aid is not usually available for an Appeal of this nature and as such must be funded by the Driver or his/her backers i.e. Association.
The General rule is that the losing party pays the winning party's costs. However, costs are always at the discretion of the Court. The Court may Order that only part of the costs be paid by the losing party and in extreme cases refuse to make a costs order at all.
The advice given herein is General Advice only. For advice specific to your particular circumstances you should consult with a Solicitor. This general advice is provided subject to the usual disclaimer that neither Tapin2taxis it's servants, agents or subsidiaries accept liability, legal or otherwise resulting from actions taken on reliance of this advice and/or from any omission or error in the advice.
For details of a Solicitor specialising in this field of work in your area, you should contact the National Private Hire Association on 0161 280 2800. The National Private Hire Association is not financially linked to Tapin2taxis but simply share the common aim of assisting the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Trade. Members of the National Private Hire Association can in some cases enjoy discounted rates through it's Approved Solicitors and other Service Providers.
