The Council has attached Conditions to my Hackney Carriage and/or Private Hire Vehicle 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". Most Conditions relate to the type, design, colour, and prohibition of sings on a Vehicle or the age of the Vehicle. Generally speaking a Council will draft a set of "Blanket Conditions" which are designed to apply to the whole of the trade. Additionally a Vehicle Proprietor may have extra conditions attached to his/her Licence as a result of some past event. i.e. smoke emission failures, which cause the Council to want the vehicle to have smoke emission tests every 2 months. By law a Council may only require a Vehicle to be tested a maximum of 3 times a year. The norm is one annual test or 2 x 6 monthly tests. Although, there seems to be no restriction on the number of spot-checks that a Council can carry out. Testing must be done at such times and places as are reasonable.
What is a reasonably necessary Condition will undoubtedly come down to questions of fact, and what may be reasonably necessary in one area of the Country may not be reasonably necessary in another. Type, design and the age of Vehicles are the most difficult Conditions to overcome. For example where a Council prohibits roof signs on Private Hire Vehicles or where vehicles must be a uniform colour, or brand new when first licensed, then the task of overturning those Conditions (which are arguably Policy Decisions in any event) is that more difficult. However, where the Council requires Vehicles to be say "NEW YORK YELLOW" with the Council's motif emblazoned across the bonnet, then such a condition iis capable of being overturned.
Any condition(s) of Licence that a Proprietor 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 Proprietor, he/she has 21 days in which to lodge an Appeal to the Magistrates Court. In order to lodge an Appeal the Applicant or his/her solicitor must lodge a Summons of Complaint at the Magistrates Court within a 21-day period. The Summons of Complaint will state the Proprietors name and address and the Proprietor 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 Vehicle Licence the Statutory right can be found at Section 47(3) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (the Act of 1976) and for Private Hire Vehicles the right is enshrined in Section 48(7) of the Act of 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. 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 PROPRIETOR 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 PROPRIETOR 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 ESSENTIAL IN CASES OF THIS NATURE.
There is only a limited amount of case law currently available on this issue.
After the Magistrates have heard all of the evidence and heard submissions by each party, they will retire to reach their decision.
When the decision has been given, the Magistrates must also state the reasons why they reached the decision they have. Failure to give reasons can in some cases give rise to the decision being quashed by way of Judicial Review.
The party 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 Proprietor wins the Appeal, the Council must abandon the offending Condition(s) of Licence.
If the Proprietor loses the Appeal, he/she has the same right to Appeal to the Crown Court within 21 days.
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.
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.
