X Aylesbury vale,Bucks & MK licensed Private hire vehicles and drivers working in Bedford.
Dear Bedford Borough Council,
Why do you let so many private hire vehicles and drivers that are not licensed by Bedford Borough Council work in Bedford, for Bedford operators?
Is this an agreement you have with certain private hire operators?
Do you inspect the vehicles and drivers that are not licensed by yourselves but are working in Bedford for Bedford operators through apps?
Yours faithfully,
Khalid .
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Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to your enquiry for information held by the Council and apologise
for the late response.
Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the authority must
state whether or not the information exists and I confirm that we do hold
the information you requested which is provided below in blue.
Why do you let so many private hire vehicles and drivers that are not
licensed by Bedford Borough Council work in Bedford, for Bedford
operators?
Is this an agreement you have with certain private hire operators?
Do you inspect the vehicles and drivers that are not licensed by
yourselves but are working in Bedford for Bedford operators through apps?
The Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 (LGMP) Section 55a
allows for a licensed private hire operator to sub-contract a booking to
another licensed private hire operator, whether in the same Borough or
not. Both operators must be licensed within the area in which their
operating base is located and should record details of the booking in the
normal way.
All three licences (operator, driver and vehicle) must be issued by the
same local authority. For example, an operator licensed to operate in
Bedford and in another local authority area cannot take a booking in
Bedford and use a vehicle and driver licensed by another authority. They
may, however, sub-contract the booking to their operating base in the
other area using a vehicle and driver licensed by that authority.
This is also referred to in case law in judgment Uber v Knowsley BC [2018]
EWHC 757. Some private hire operators licensed by Bedford Borough Council
also hold licenses to operate a private hire business in our neighbouring
authorities and are therefore sub-contracting bookings to their 'sister'
company.
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dealing with complaints about the determination of this request for
information is the Council’s FOI Complaints Procedure, a copy of which can
be obtained on request or is set out at:
[1]https://www.bedford.gov.uk/council-and-d...
Regards
Please respond to [2][email address]
Fiona McCabe
Registration Officer (Licensing)
Assessment, Application & Business Support
Bedford Borough Council
Borough Hall
Cauldwell Street
Bedford
MK42 9AP
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