Issue details

The council is under a statutory duty to ensure that only persons deemed fit and proper are licensed as hackney carriage or private hire drivers.  The council’s licensing policy sets out the ‘fit and proper’ assessment criteria for applicants which includes, amongst others, a requirement for applicants to undertake a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (“DVSA”) taxi driving assessment and to submit to the council an accredited pass certificate.

In August the DVSA wrote to the council to advise that the DVSA will cease to undertake taxi driver assessments effective from 31 December 2016.  As a consequence, it is necessary for the council to investigate alternative provision for taxi driver driving assessments.