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Agenda item
Medical Fitness Test For Hackney Carriage And Private Hire Vehicle Drivers.
Minutes:
The Licensing Manager presented the report,
which had been prepared following a Member’s request, and outlined the process
and rationale used by other authorities in Wales for applying grandfather
rights to existing licensed drivers when changing from Group 1 to Group 2
medical standards.
Members were reminded that under current
Caerphilly Council policy, the process to determine the ‘fit and proper’ person
status of prospective or existing licensed taxi drivers includes a requirement to
provide a Group 2 medical.
Responsibility for determining the medical standard to be applied to
taxi drivers rests with the Local Authority, and current best practice advice
is that this should be the DVLA Group 2 standard. This requirement was approved by the
Licensing Committee on 28th May 2015, when the Authority amended its position
from a Group 1 to Group 2 medical requirement and became effective from 1st
July 2015.
The Licensing Manager explained that this
decision was taken in order to bring the authority into line with the majority
of authorities in England and Wales and Department of Transport best practice
guidance. 96% of licensing authorities in England base the medical fitness
assessment on the DVLA Group 2 standard.
Consequently, all new taxi drivers are required to provide a
Group 2 Medical as part of the application process, whilst existing taxi
drivers are required to provide a Group 2 Medical at their next medical due
date. Members were advised that
Caerphilly Council currently has 465
licensed drivers, and that at the time of the report, 338 drivers (72.7%),
already meet the Group 2 medical standard, with the remaining 127 drivers being
subject to the Group 2 standard when their next medical due date is reached.
At the previous meeting of the Taxi and General Committee on 23rd
September 2019, a Member requested a report on how some authorities in Wales
had issued grandfather rights to existing drivers when introducing the Group 2
standard. By way of clarification, the
Licensing Manager explained that grandfather rights are a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new
rule will apply to all future cases.
During preparation of the report, the Licensing
Department made a request to all authorities across Wales for information on
the type of medical standard applied, and also asked if grandfather rights were
given to existing drivers for those that increased their standard from Group 1
to 2. The response indicated that 18 of
the 22 authorities in Wales currently require drivers to meet the Group 2 DVLA
Medical standard. Information on whether
or not grandfather rights was provided was received for 12 local authorities. To date, Caerphilly Licensing Officers are
only aware of two authorities who gave such rights to existing drivers, namely
Powys and Swansea Councils.
It was found during the course of enquiries that
many authorities increased to the Group 2 medical standard so long ago that
current staff do not have any knowledge of the change process. Both Powys and Swansea Councils have been
approached concerning their decision to allow grandfather rights for existing
drivers. However, in view of the time
elapsed and changes in personnel since implementation (2004 in Swansea and 2008
in Powys) neither local authority could assist with the grounds for this
decision.
Records for Powys County Council’s Licensing
Committee show that on 19th July 2008, it was agreed that the Group 1 standard
would be the basic medical test for existing licence holders and that the Group
2 standard of fitness would be required for new applicants and previous licence
holders that had allowed their licence to lapse. The minutes of the meeting do not give any
detail as to why that decision was made, Officers involved at the time have
retired, and current personnel do not have any information on the rationale for
the decision.
It
is understood that Swansea Council introduced changes in their medical
requirements in 2004 and it is believed gave grandfather rights for existing
licensed drivers to be assessed against Group 1 and new applicants against the
Group 2 standard. Swansea Council were
unable to locate any records or minutes and no current personnel have any
knowledge of the change or rationale for the change as it was so long ago.
The Committee were asked to note that comments of
Authorities which did not permit grandfather rights in relation to existing
drivers referred to the local authorities’ responsibility to protect public safety
and the potential of creating a double standard, if existing drivers were
allowed to remain under the provisions of a Group 1 medical, whereas new
drivers had to provide a Group 2 medical.
In conclusion, the report stated that the grounds or rationale for permitting grandfather
rights in Swansea and Powys local authority areas are unclear in view of the
time that has elapsed since implemented and changes in personnel over time.
Mr Chris Bundy of the CCBTDA then was invited to
address the Committee and make his representations regarding the report. Mr Bundy referred to a number of key points
contained in the report and responded to these in turn. He added that his responses had been verified
by the National Private Hire and Taxi Association.
Mr Bundy stated that although current best
practice advice is for the Group 2 medical standard to be applied to taxi
drivers, this is for guidance only and can be deviated from at the discretion
of the Local Authority. He explained
that he knew of 3 authorities in Wales that used the Group 1 standard and 2
others that gave grandfather rights in respect of Group 2. Mr Bundy also stated that the report had not
identified how many drivers had lost their licence and livelihoods through
being unable to meet the requirements of the Group 2 medical, and that the
report placed an emphasis on licensing policy in England, rather than Wales as
per the Member’s request.
Mr Bundy referred to the responses received from
the other local authorities across Wales in respect of the medical standard
applied. He claimed that in addition to
Powys and Swansea Councils, a further three Welsh authorities had adopted the
Group 1 standard, and that another two authorities had made alterations to their
Group 2 policy.
Mr Bundy also stated that there would have been valid reasons for
Powys and Swansea Councils providing for grandfather rights for the drivers and
that the lack of change in their respective policies since that time
demonstrated that the current system in respect of medical fitness was clearly
working for these authorities.
Mr Bundy made reference to the use of Section 19
licenses by PSV drivers and highlighted the disparity between the fitness
criteria for these drivers when compared to taxi drivers. He also outlined the concerns of the CCBTDA
in respect of the age requirements for medicals, explaining that if a new
driver is aged 21, there would be a 24-year gap between their medical upon
application and the next compulsory medical at the age of 45, and that the
general health of an individual has the potential to significantly change
during that period. He stated that the
CCBTDA would wish to see a medical introduced on a 3-yearly basis for drivers
of all ages in the interest of public safety.
Mr Bundy also highlighted concerns around the ability for drivers to use
any GP of their choice when acquiring a medical certificate.
Mr Bundy commented on the equalities, financial
and personnel sections of the report, stating that the current policy had no regard
for equality across drivers, had led to drivers suffering financial hardship,
and had given no regard for the personal circumstances of drivers.
In closing, Mr Bundy asked the Committee to take
into account the policy situation across Wales, not England, and appealed to
Members for the standard to be reverted to the Group 1 medical
requirement. He also asked for the
medical requirement to be increased to every 3 years and for a requirement to
be placed on drivers to gain this certificate from their family practitioner,
so that the doctor has the complete medical history of the driver to hand. Should the Committee not be minded to revert
to the Group 1 standard, Mr Bundy asked that Members consider reinstalling
Group 1 grandfather rights for existing drivers, and reiterated the hardships
being faced by many drivers who are unable to meet the Group 2 requirements and
cannot obtain alternative work in another profession.
Mr Bundy was thanked for his representations and
questions were then invited from the Committee on the contents of the report.
A Member sought clarification on the background
for the decision by the Licensing Committee to change the medical requirement
from the Group 1 to Group 2 standard in 2015.
The Licensing Manager referred the Committee to the report prepared at
that time and explained that in 2015, Caerphilly Council was different to many
other local authorities across Wales in that a lower threshold of medical
standard was required for taxi licenses.
Arising from Department of Transport best practice guidance, a report
was brought to the Licensing Committee on 28th May 2015 which asked Members if
they wished to retain the Group 1 standard or introduce a more stringent Group
2 standard. The Committee subsequently
determined by a majority vote to introduce the Group 2 standard as the
pre-requisite medical standard for licensed drivers. One Member asked for a copy of the 2015
report to be provided to him following the meeting.
A Member asked how many taxi licenses had been
surrendered across the county borough since the introduction of the Group 2
standard. The Licensing Manager
explained that he did not have the information to hand but could arrange to
circulate this following the meeting.
The Licensing Manager acknowledged the points
raised by Mr Bundy and confirmed that there were questions around the use of
practitioners other that the driver’s family GP to gain a medical
certificate. He stated that going
forward, there could be potential to bring a further report to the Committee
which would address some of the concerns raised by the CCBTDA and place more
conditions on Group 2, either by the use of the driver’s own GP or a proviso
that any other practitioner issuing a Group 2 medical certificate must be able
to access the driver’s complete medical history. With regards to the gap between medicals at
ages 21 and 45, the Licensing Manager explained that a future report could
examine the potential to introduce a shorter period of time between the two
medicals.
The Committee asked if there was any evidence to
support Mr Bundy’s claim that local authorities other than Powys and Swansea
Councils are operating to the Group 1 standard. The Licensing Manager explained
that three local authorities applied the Group 1 medical requirement, and that
other authorities may have made modifications to their policy but that the
Group 2 medical standard was the base requirement. In response to another Member’s query, he
explained that there was no information to suggest that some local authorities
had reverted from the Group 2 to Group 1 requirement.
A Member enquired as to the number of drivers
who were unable to meet the Group 2 criteria.
The Licensing Manager stated that he was aware of two such instances,
but confirmed that he would arrange to collate this information and circulate
to Members following the meeting. He
also referred to the points raised by Mr Bundy in relation to financial
hardship for drivers, and reminded Members that the overriding consideration
for the local authority when issuing taxi licenses must be the upholding of
public safety, and financial circumstances in respect of individual drivers
cannot be taken into account.
Following due debate, it was moved and seconded
that the contents of the report in response to the question posed by the
elected Member be noted. By a show of
hands, this was unanimously agreed.
A Member then moved a further motion which was
seconded, in that a further report be brought to the Committee to consider the
continuation of the Group 2 standard for all new drivers, whilst allowing
existing drivers with no break in their licence to continue on a Group 1
basis. Following debate on the merits of
the motion, it was put to the vote, and by a show of hands (and in noting there
were 2 for, 7 against and 1 abstention) was declared lost. It was therefore
RESOLVED that the contents of the report in
response to the question posted by the elected Member be noted.
Supporting documents: