i90#?WHB CH 7:+ 6YgY]BPU8q-HG-b%+aK`y=DUFB%2)x$T'oSz+! Responsible for local and national political stories, opinion, comment and analysis. The city council added it had been at the forefront of calls for a national database of drivers. Resolver can help you send your complaints to Wolverhampton City Council. Yours faithfully Are you the owner of any commercial copyright on this page? The purpose of the witness statement is to provide written evidence to support a complaint that will, if necessary, be used as evidence in court. Governance All rights reserved. . City of Wolverhampton Council has increased the number of licences it issues eightfold since the Deregulation Act 2015 was introduced, meaning drivers no longer needed to live or work in the area of the local authority that granted them a licence. Resolver is a completely free complaint-resolution tool that puts the British consumer directly in touch with the customer service providers who can resolve their complaint. Members of the council's regulatory committee are set to discuss the matter on Wednesday. <> Yours faithfully This includes when drivers are operating outside of Wolverhampton, where drivers are expected to co-operate with reasonable requests from compliance staff authorised in other areas. City of Wolverhampton Council Private Hire & Hackney Carriage Complaint Procedure Please provide your details so we can keep you informed on the outcome of the complaint you wish to raise.. A site to help anyone submit a Freedom of Information request. Taxi licences | City Of Wolverhampton Council @RRQE%0(JZ (QE Change in taxi laws could call time on Wolverhampton's 'out of control ( Wolverhampton Council, EP Council's taxi licensing change aims to save money. 8 0 obj Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the author immediately by replying to this email. and a limited company (03277032). Wolverhampton council said it stripped licences from suspects immediately. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. If we decide a fee is payable, we will As such, the Council considers those applications and where the applicant is fit and proper, a licence is granted. is a registered charity in England and Wales (1076346) We couldnt load the mail server logs for this message. A new report to Walsalls director of public health has outlined concerns over dwindling application numbers. Printed from https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/taxi_complaints_4?unfold=1 on May 02, 2023 00:03. To pay your Parking and Bus Lane Penalty Charge Notices online you will need: your Parking and Bus Lane Penalty Charge Notices reference number your debit or credit card details Account details. It is only after these checks have been satisfied that an applicant can become a licensed driver. Taxi drivers to face extra criminal checks, Taxi driver jailed for sex assault in cab, Taxi licence regulation 'must be tougher', Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing report, Taxi Complaints - City of Wolverhampton Council, Generations of Wolves speedway fans turn out in force to the first meeting since bombshell stadium news, Stourbridge shoppers 'intimidated by aggressive begging' in town centre. If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error Mr Ashford welcomed news of the government's proposals for tougher legislation. %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ^hE/4 Ph @EPsG4R(99 (iH=iOjJ@/&R % "They will know for example, that the children live together in residential care homes and become friendly with them, and quite easily take advantage of a particular vulnerability by being approachable by offering a sense of fulfilment to that child by offering things that are perceived to be quite adult or responsible such as alcohol, drugs and gifts, and begin grooming them that way before abusing them.". The application fee for a New Private Hire Driver licence is 64.00 for a 1 year licence or 120.00 for a 3 year licence and must be paid electronically as part of this application process. A total of 170 taxis were inspected by our dedicated Roads Policing Unit, in line with COVID and road safety regulations. Where complaints are made, the Council has a key performance indicator (KPI) for all complaints involving safeguarding concerns to be investigated within one day. Private hire drivers have been accused of sex crimes over 150 miles away from where they are licensed, Taxi drivers have held protests around the country over cross-border hiring, Taxi drivers in Wolverhampton say they have been protesting about the issue for years. and a limited company (03277032). Blackpool taxi drivers bypassing resort's regulations with Get started. Wolverhampton Council currently operates a Get Home Safe campaign which seeks to make sure the public are aware of the differences between hiring hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. services through our wholly owned subsidiary complaints against drivers, are less likely to occur in an environment . Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender, Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? We are working with industry leaders, regulators and government to make your voice heard and improve customer service. Before April 2015, there. C " endobj We couldnt load the mail server logs for this message. xUMo0#HMH,mQ-Uki66>X{o<3n|uYK6+m It prompted licensing bosses at Wolverhampton Council to streamline its application process and slash the prices of licences leading to a dramatic increase in applications. u&?JC proceeding with your request. of how you may appeal (if appropriate). 30 March 2022. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the day's top stories sent directly to you. Let us know what you think has gone wrong and how you think we can correct it. Ebrahim Suleman, former chairman of West Midlands Private Hire Drivers Association, said "99.9% of drivers" were honest and hard working but a minority used loopholes to get a licence. send you a fee notice and we will require you to pay the fee before The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. What action has been taken by Wolverhampton council? Wolverhampton then made it very easy to get licenced there, issued tens of thousands of licences for a population of 260,000 and therefore made the standards of private hire taxis slip in the whole country malcster_75 8 mo. Consumer guides, newsletters, surveys and more! endobj With Resolver you can send your case to key ombudsmen and regulators including: Resolver is not affiliated to, linked with or otherwise endorsed by Wolverhampton City Council. This policy relates to surveillance cameras, also. At the end of the training programme, there is a written assessment. PDF Taxi CCTV Policy - Wolverhampton Read about our approach to external linking. Current guidelines allow councils to set their own driver standards, including whether to make the checks. The first is an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which includes a check on the children and vulnerable adults barred list. The court heard that Ayub frequently carried the passenger without their journeys being pre-booked through a licensed private hire vehicle operator which is illegal and contrary to Section 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Many established taxi drivers say the Deregulation Act 2015 is threatening their livelihoods and claim a change in the application process is "risking customer safety". Weve helped millions of people find a resolution. "We would like to see a return of standards so that public safety is not put at risk.". stream [1][Wolverhampton City Council request email] Wolverhampton Homes | Complaints and feedback Resolver is a totally free service that you can use to complain effectively. "But there are some who will use their position of power and authority to take advantage of vulnerable people, particularly as taxi journeys are often one-on-one situations. When we receive a complaint, if the problem is something we can put right straight away, we will. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone. (Q@(((ER ( (( );R QG4s@4Q4 3G4PRSi PE%EPG4Q In May 2017, the chair of Wolverhampton's licensing committee, Alan Bolshaw, wrote to Sajid Javid, who was then Communities and Local Government Secretary, urging him to create a national database of drivers so that adequate background checks could be carried out, even suggesting the council fund it. Wolverhampton ( disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Under the plans, those with specific previous convictions would face minimum bans "in all but truly exceptional circumstances". <>/OutputIntents[<>] /Metadata 371 0 R/ViewerPreferences 372 0 R>> <>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 594.96 842.04] /Contents 4 0 R/StructParents 0>> ( WhatDoTheyKnow also publishes and archives requests and responses, building a massive archive of information. ( except where the sender specifically states these to be the views 2019. City of Wolverhampton Council takes taxi licensing seriously. It has granted 35,035 private hire licences since 2017, pumping 8.7m into the authoritys coffers. 9 0 obj ( "I was sitting in the back of the taxi and he put his hand on my knee". Yours faithfully, DearL Thompson 4 0 obj It should be noted that there is no provision in legislation to refuse to consider an application from an individual who lives outside of Wolverhampton. Established in 2008. In Birmingham, where there have been four serious sexual allegations against drivers licensed in Wolverhampton, the council said it was concerned the Deregulation Act had "resulted in a situation where there are many vehicles and drivers in the city over whom the council has no enforcement powers". ago ( Wolverhampton has registered about a third of England's taxi drivers and is inundated with applications, according to a report. except where the sender specifically states these to be the views Wolverhampton Council hands out 15,000 taxi licences in one year to City of Wolverhampton Council licensed Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles are referred to collectively as 'taxis' in this policy. View as HTML. Wolverhampton City Council Complaints Email & Phone | Resolver UK } !1AQa"q2#BR$3br ( She then more than doubled the price for the uninsured journey. Wolverhampton registers about a third of England's taxi drivers, according to a report. The situation has led to a chaotic picture emerging around the country, with authorities unable to control all cabbies working in their area. The applicant is also checked against the National Anti-Fraud Networks (NAFN) National Register of Refusals, Revocations and Suspensions (NR3S). It is intended solely for the addressee. ( Taxi drivers licensed by a council which is accused of threatening public safety are suspected of serious sexual offences. ^hibQE( ZJ(EPEPER ( ( ( ( ( ( (QE( E6) E:hwAKKAIKI@Q@IE QE R(4 J )hi( (i( This condition empowers officers in other areas and where drivers are breaking the law then other licensing authorities can and do prosecute them. please follow the link to Wolverhampton City Council Taxi Licensing. list by name and contact details of private hire vehicle operators licensed to/by Wolverhampton council 2020 Resolver is a completely free complaint-resolution tool that puts the British consumer directly in touch with the customer service providers who can resolve their complaint. The guidelines have been benchmarked against the Institute of Licensings Guidance and the Governments Statutory Standards and in both documents cases, the Councils rehabilitation periods are longer. Placing members of the public at unnecessary risk by taking a booking without valid insurance is unacceptable.. Use Resolver to make a complaint. It is a criminal offence for people on barred lists to apply to work in a regulated activity and offenders are reported to the police. "At the moment, some drivers can take advantage of a loophole where they can apply to get a licence in an authority that has less stringent assessments and ply their trade in an area which does. Theres no jargon in our rights guides. might not provide that informationto you. In some case, a fee may be payable. <> NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. A driver working in Southampton when a serious sexual allegation was made against him in October 2017, A Wolverhampton taxi driver accused of being involved in child sexual exploitation on 16 June 2017 in Bolsover, Derbyshire, A serious sexual allegation recorded as taking place in Mansfield, more than 70 miles away, on 3 October 2016, One allegation of CSE made in Shropshire in January 2018 along with two other serious sexual allegations in 2017, In Telford, where authorities have dealt with. The standard of behaviour and level of trust expected should be demonstrated in the conduct of those licensed at all times. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 2000andwe aim to senda response by4 December 2019. The Council uploaded all its historic computer data to this register and all refusals by the Council are added to this register. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, the government said it was tightening taxi safety guidelines, increased the number of licences it issues, sign up for local news updates direct to your phone, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Disney faces countersuit in feud with Florida, US rock band Aerosmith announce farewell tour, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Street piano confiscated as public 'break rules', Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month. which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of Taxi complaints - a Freedom of Information request to Wolverhampton Summary of CCTV Requirements 1. Safety and health of drivers and the public; High standards of vehicle safety, comfort and access; Prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of consumers; and, Equality and accessibility in service provision. ( Navdeep Nijjar This request has been closed to new correspondence. The service has never failed an audit. Subscribe to one or all notification sources from this one place. (/65hQJ1AE% RR)(JZ(AIE R ZC@RPKE% QK@ E- QE QE QK@ EPEPEPIKE %Q@ EPzQE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QI@E% QKE <> Taxi drivers and council staff say a fond farewell to the 'queen of Donate and support our work. Wolverhampton City Council, Download a zip file of all correspondence, Enforcement of standards in private rented sector, Noise complaints for Premier League stadiums, People banned from council-owned buildings. 2,000 grants to help Wolverhampton taxi drivers | Express & Star . Established in 2008. Importantly, our driver conditions dictate that drivers must cooperate with reasonable requests from compliance staff authorised in other areas. Email:licensing@sstaffs.gov.ukTelephone: (01902) 696000, Sign up to receive news and updates from South Staffordshire Council. You therefore need a debit or credit card to make the payment.. You must also complete a DBS application (Criminal Records Check) and provide a DVLA three . 1. mailto:[Wolverhampton City Council request email], 92K ( Your donations keep this site and others like it running. Established taxi drivers in Wolverhampton have previously protested over what they said was a fall in standards since the Deregulation Act was introduced. Enquiries are made with those authorities and any previous complaints considered with the Councils Guidelines. ZLP J;i Pi(KBR :J((ZJ(RRQE QE Q@ )))hEPEPRI@Rs@)ii(z endobj ( We take passengers safety and wellbeing seriously. ^PER`QE Taxi complaints - a Freedom of Information request to Wolverhampton 2023 Resolver Consumer Online Limited. If you need to make a complaint about a driver or a vehicle, . The Council also considers whether the complaints against the driver necessitate consideration by the Disclosure and Barring Service for the former driver to be added to the children and/or vulnerable adults barred lists. However, if you'd rather complain directly, you can use the above address to contact Wolverhampton City Council. which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of (ZNh ( (((((((((( (EPEPI-Nh9G4sG4 sG4sG4 S{4 The licensing authority has been made aware of complaints against drivers via police, other councils and by passengers themselves. City of Wolverhampton Council takes taxi licensing seriously. privacy legislation. A Freedom of Information request found Wolverhampton Council had handed out 15,000 private hire licences in 2019, bringing in nearly 3.7m in fees. The Council's main objective regarding taxi and private hire licensing are: If you are looking for further information about the requirements, please follow the link toWolverhampton City Council Taxi Licensing. On Tuesday, the Department for Transport announced new proposals for taxi and private hire drivers to have to pass enhanced criminal record checks before being granted a licence. The council report also stated its licensing team prioritised drivers in its own area and had taken on 20 extra staff in the last year to deal with the volume of applications, with plans to appoint more. u6`QK@E%E%/z( (Q@RPKE QIKHOQL(QKI@J^h Whilst people apply to Wolverhampton from all over the country, we conduct compliance operations all over the country. To apply/renew your driver or vehicle licence follow the links below. It currently has 4,461 drivers licensed. 2 0 obj ofWolverhampton Council . Download Wolverhampton Council Wolverhampton City Council Taxi Licensing. endobj Reports of child sexual exploitation are among allegations made against drivers licensed in Wolverhampton, but who also operate across England. ( DBS checks are also carried out on vehicle licence applicants, as well as a check that the vehicle is insured for public and/or private hire. endobj Just raise a case and leave feedback after. Successful Weekend Taxi Enforcement Operation - Merseyside Police The Council has never refused a request from a licensing authority for a compliance operation in their area. P(j _JZm(AI OJ)i(QEZJZ %zQ@-% QI@PIKE %Q@ QKE %Q@Q@IE QE Rw(A((((((((((((EPEPER9(4sKI !PEPIKE %- QE Q@(AEP ( ( ( ( ( J ( QZ((G4 !h % QE @sG4 QKI@4sG=> GKu H( EJ)i(RQ@Q@y KE( ()(C L thompson made this Freedom of Information request to Wolverhampton City Council Over the same period Wolverhampton Council had 1,018 applications from private hire drivers based in Walsall. The authoritys total income from private hire and Hackney Carriage licensing was 157,482. Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from It is examining a range of proposals, including making taxi and private hire. uKIJ( (C %Z %( _(4 PR@%PK ( (IKFh I@Q@ E- QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE QE RR ( ( ) sG4sH999999( ()i)h( (QE Some drivers may have taken on related work as delivery drivers, the report added. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk, Council's taxi licensing change aims to save money, Taxi drivers 'missing out on Covid payments', Generations of Wolves speedway fans turn out in force to the first meeting since bombshell stadium news, Stourbridge shoppers 'intimidated by aggressive begging' in town centre. Wolverhampton Council Please provide number of complaints received by council in relation to uber taxis from 2015-2019, Information request Taxi complaints Wolverhampton City Council. The data was provided in a Freedom of Information request. View our cookie policy here. <> ( This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions When questioned by council officers, Ayub, of Broadway, in Shirley, Solihull, said the increased cost was a result of coronavirus. Wolverhampton Council has cornered the market, but you have to question whether it is right that a driver can get a licence there but ply their trade hundreds of miles away, he said. Change of Address. ( Councillor Mike Bird, the leader of Walsall Council, said he favoured a change in legislation as the current system was making a mockery of local authority licensing laws. Learn more about Resolver Pro and how to claim your business. Contact us if you think it should be reopened. PDF Complaints Procedure - Civica Number of Private hire taxi operators who have breached their operators licence conditions including name of operator and details of breaches from 2017 -2019, Information request The topic of taxi safety comes after the case of "black cab rapist" John Worboys, who police believe may have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women he picked up in London between 2002 and 2008. Deputy chief reporter at the Express & Star. has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or endobj (h-! (%P P0PH(h@ vZ( (( Resolver is free. Where a matching record is found, information is requested from the licensing authority and a licence will not be granted until this information is considered. Putting things right Complaints process Other options Please notify Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Council has always defended its position, stating that it oversees enforcement operations all over the country, and that any profits it makes from licensing are ploughed back into the scheme. WhatDoTheyKnow also publishes and archives requests and responses, building a massive archive of information. This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of A total of 927 drivers were said to be waiting for a hearing to determine their application. 'Downloads' section of the Council's Taxi Licences webpage). Private hire driver loses licence for overcharging passenger after Is climate change killing Australian wine? The Council is 100% compliant with this KPI. If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error We also undertake Compliance Operations throughout the year, including Friday and Saturday nights to ensure safety for visitors to the night-time economy. ( ( The report made furthest from the West Midlands city came from a complainant more than 150 miles away. [1][Wolverhampton City Council request email] ( NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. ( (Q@Q@QL(EPE% QKI@-%G4s@ %/4sHhy9 94 ) - QG4 sAE- !()hhJ'zVP(g -%(?i ))QCRPE RQHaEPE%- QI@E)i)hQEQE !BQKE u'49hbm8h! 7 0 obj Want to help others get their issues sorted fast or see the latest updates about how Resolver can help you? Taxi drivers and council colleagues say farewell to Elaine Moreton (centre) who is retiring at the age of 75 after 39 years' service. n)=_} bRqHCD@[WP,=|B2Ho|Sc$+! We provide commercial Our reference: 1386425, Response all information to be supplied.pdf, 96K We will inform youif this is J^h'K~s@sIMJZJ)( The authority said it dealt with complaints robustly, with all safeguarding issues dealt with within a day "regardless of where the driver is in the country". Wolverhampton taxi drivers accused of serious sex crimes We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information endstream ( ( )(((h(QE Thank you for your request for information received on6 November Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Applicants are also required to disclose any previous licensing history. Visible links J((h "There have been several consultations about the private hire trade and he appears to be playing catch up. requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details

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