Private hire operator's licence

Anyone in Pendle wishing to invite private hire bookings and dispatch a licensed vehicle and driver to fulfill those bookings, must hold a private hire operator’s licence.

Private hire operators are responsible for ensuring that the vehicles and drivers they dispatch hold valid, appropriate licences to undertake those journeys and will only be granted a licence if the Council is satisfied that they are fit and proper to hold such a licence.

All private hire operator licences are issued subject to conditions which can be found at Appendix 13 of our Taxi Licensing Policy.

Duration of Licence

The Council normally issues operators licences for 5 years however in some circumstances the Council may consider it appropriate to issue a licence for a shorter period.

Application procedure

All private hire operator licences clearly indicate the expiry date of the licence and it is the responsibility of the operator to ensure that a valid application is submitted to the Council before the licence expires.

Applications will not be determined until the applicant is able to produce original evidence of:

• If there is public access, valid, appropriate insurance policy for public liability
• Basic disclosure certificate for each applicant, or director(s), partner(s) of a company no older than 1 month for new applicants.
• Evidence of appropriate planning permission
• Policy on employing ex-offenders
• Payment of the appropriate fee
• A tax check code, issued by HMRC, for renewal applications or in the case of new applications a signed declaration on the application form that you have read HMRC guidance on the requirements to register for tax.

Safeguarding and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training

The Council recognises that private hire operators and their dispatchers play an important role in providing access to a safe means of transport to all members of society.

Their role, alongside that of the licensed drivers they dispatch, places them in daily contact with some of the most vulnerable members of our society and as such they are ideally placed to assist all those agencies who have a statutory responsibility to safeguard the vulnerable.

In order for them to recognise the signs of CSE and to enable them to report suspicious behavior appropriately, all applicants for a  private hire operator’s licence shall have completed basic safeguarding and CSE awareness training, provided via the Council, or a Council approved provider, before they will be granted a licence.

Training will be deemed to have lapsed 3 years from the date training took place.

Operators will be expected to ensure that all dispatch staff they employ undertake the online CSE training provided through the Lancashire Safeguarding Children’s Board and be able to provide evidence of this. Failure for a dispatcher to have training will result in a review of their operator’s licence.

Booking and Dispatch Staff

A vehicle dispatcher decides which driver to send to a user, a position that could be exploited by those seeking to exploit children and vulnerable adults. It is therefore appropriate that all staff that have contact with private hire vehicle users and the dispatching of vehicles should not present an undue risk to the public or the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.

Register of Booking and Dispatch Staff

Private hire vehicle operators should be able to demonstrate that all staff that have contact with the public and/or oversee the dispatching of vehicles do not pose a risk to the public. The operator will be required to keep a register of all staff that will take bookings or dispatch vehicles.

The register should be a ‘living document’ that maintains records of all those in these roles for the same duration as booking records are required to be kept, this will enable cross-referencing between the two records. 

DBS Check for Booking and Dispatch Staff

Operators are required to evidence that they have had sight to a Basic DBS check on all individuals listed on their register of booking and dispatch staff and to ensure that Basic DBS checks are conducted on any individuals added to the register and that this is compatible with their policy on employing ex-offenders.

DBS certificate provided by the individual should be recently issued when viewed, alternatively the operator could use a ‘responsible organisation’ to request the check on their behalf. When individuals start taking bookings and dispatching vehicles for an operator they should be required, as part of their employment contract, to advise the operator of any convictions while they are employed in this role.

A record that the operator has had sight of a basic DBS check certificate (although the certificate itself should not be retained) should be retained for the duration that the individual remains on the register and has undertaken CSE training. Should an employee cease to be on the register and later re-entered, a new basic DBS certificate should be requested and sight of this recorded.

Outsourcing of Bookings

Operators may outsource booking and dispatch functions but they cannot pass on the obligation to protect children and vulnerable adults. Operators should be required to evidence that comparable protections are applied by the company to which they outsource these functions.

Policy of Employing Ex-Offenders

Operators or applicants for a licence are required to provide their policy on employing ex-offenders in roles that would be on the register (5) as above. As with the threshold to obtaining a private hire vehicle operator’s licence, those with a conviction or offences provided in the annex (this is the Council’s convictions policy, see appendix 10 in the taxi licensing policy) to this document, other than those relating to driving, may not be suitable to decide who is sent to carry a child or vulnerable adult unaccompanied in a car.

Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS)

Private hire operators, including all directors or partners wishing to trade in Pendle are required to provide a basic disclosure certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service every year.

Those applicants who also hold either a private hire or hackney carriage or private hire driver’s licence are not required to provide a standard disclosure certificate, as the Licensing Authority will have already assessed their enhanced disclosure when granting a driver’s licence.

Certificate of Conduct

Any applicant, who has lived outside the UK within the last 10 years, will be required to produce a Certificate of Conduct, translated into English, from each of the countries that they have lived in within that period.

Notification of arrest and release, charge or convictions

Licence holders must inform the Council within 48 hours of an arrest and release, charge or conviction of any sexual offence, any offence involving dishonesty or violence and any motoring offence. An arrest for any of the offences within this scope will result in a review as to whether the licence holder is fit to continue to hold a licence.

A failure by a licence holder to disclose an arrest that the Council is subsequently advised of might be seen as behaviour that questions honesty and therefore the suitability of the licence holder regardless of the outcome of the initial allegation.

Insurance 

Private hire operators are required to provide evidence of public liability insurance for the premises to be licensed if the public have access.

Premises

Where a private hire operator provides premises for the public they shall be maintained in a clean and tidy condition, be adequately lit, heated and ventilated and where a waiting area is provided have adequate seating facilities.

Record Keeping

Private hire operators are required to keep comprehensive records of all booking and journeys undertaken.

Section 56 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 1976 requires private hire vehicle operators to keep records of the particulars of every booking invited or accepted, whether it is from the passenger or at the request of another operator. This information will enable the passenger to be traced if this becomes necessary and should improve driver security and facilitate enforcement.

The Operator must record the following information for each booking

• the name of the passenger;
• the time of the request;
• the  pick-up point;
• the destination;
• the name of the driver;
• the driver’s licence number
• the vehicle registration number of the vehicle
• the name of any individual that responded to the booking
• the name of any individual that dispatched the vehicle
• the charge made;

The Operator must keep records of the particulars of all private hire driver’s and vehicles operated by him namely the owners, registration numbers, private hire vehicle licence numbers, drivers' call signs used.

All records kept by the Operator must be kept at his place of business for a period of not less than six months following the date of the last entry and shall be produced to any authorised officer.

Data Protection

Private hire vehicle operators have a duty under data protection legislation to protect the information they record. The Information Commissioner’s Office provides comprehensive on-line guidance on registering as a data controller and how to meet their obligations.

Use of Passenger Carrying Vehicles (PCV) Licensed Drivers

PCV licensed drivers are subject to different checks from taxi and private hire vehicle licensed drivers as the work normally undertaken, i.e., driving a bus, does not present the same risk to passengers. Members of the public are entitled to expect when making a booking with a private hire vehicle operator that they will receive a licensed private hire vehicle and driver.

Where a private hire vehicle is unsuitable for example where a larger vehicle is needed because more than eight passenger seats required or to accommodate luggage, the operator must inform the booker that a public service vehicle (PSV) is necessary, and that a PCV licensed driver will be used who is subject to different checks and not required to have an enhanced DBS check. The booker can then consent to this.