Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 in Scotland
1998 c. 34 · Enacted 28 July 1998 · Extends to United Kingdom
Contents
- 2Requirement for London operator’s licence.
- 3ALondon PHV operator's licences for persons subject to immigration control
- 5Hirings accepted on behalf of another operator.
- 6Requirement for private hire vehicle licence.
- 9Fitness of licensed vehicles.
- 11Prohibition of taximeters.
- 12Requirement for private hire vehicle driver’s licence.
- 13ALondon PHV driver's licences for persons subject to immigration control
- 21Production of documents.
- 27Obstruction of authorised officers etc.
- 28Penalty for false statements.
- 29Saving for vehicles used for funerals and weddings.
- 31Prohibition of certain advertisements.
- Miscellaneous and supplementary
- 35APersons disqualified by reason of immigration status
- 35BImmigration offences and immigration penalties
- 39Consequential amendments and repeals.
- Schedule 1: Minor and consequential amendments
- Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (c. 57)
- 1Paragraph 1
- Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14)
- 2Paragraph 2
- Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 45)
- 3Paragraph 3
- Transport Act 1985 (c. 67)
- 4Paragraph 4
- Schedule 2Repeals
2Requirement for London operator’s licence.
No person shall in London make provision for the invitation or acceptance of, or accept, private hire bookings unless he is the holder of a private hire vehicle operator’s licence for London (in this Act referred to as a “London PHV operator’s licence”).
A person who makes provision for the invitation or acceptance of private hire bookings, or who accepts such a booking, in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
3ALondon PHV operator's licences for persons subject to immigration controlF1
Subsection (2) applies if—
a London PHV operator's licence is to be granted to a person who has been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for a limited period (“the leave period”);
the person's leave has not been extended by virtue of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 (continuation of leave pending variation decision); and
apart from subsection (2), the period for which the licence would have been granted would have ended after the end of the leave period.
The licence must be granted for a period which ends at or before the end of the leave period.
Subsection (4) applies if—
a London PHV operator's licence is to be granted to a person who has been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for a limited period; and
the person's leave has been extended by virtue of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 (continuation of leave pending variation decision).
The licence must be granted for a period which does not exceed six months.
A London PHV operator's licence ceases to be in force if the person to whom it was granted becomes disqualified by reason of the person's immigration status from operating a private hire vehicle.
If subsection (5) applies to a licence, the person to whom it was granted must, within the period of 7 days beginning with the day after the day on which the person first became disqualified, return it to the licensing authority.
A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (6) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction—
to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and
in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day during which an offence continues after conviction.
The Secretary of State may by regulations amend the amount for the time being specified in subsection (7)(b).
5Hirings accepted on behalf of another operator.I1
A London PHV operator (“the first operator”) who has in London accepted a private hire booking may not arrange for another operator to provide a vehicle to carry out that booking as sub-contractor unless—
the other operator is a London PHV operator and the sub-contracted booking is accepted at an operating centre in London;
the other operator is licensed under section 55 of the M1Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (in this Act referred to as “the 1976 Act”) by the council of a district and the sub-contracted booking is accepted in that district; or
the other operator accepts the sub-contracted booking in Scotland.
A London PHV operator who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
It is a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section for an operator to show that he exercised all due diligence to avoid committing such an offence.
It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1) whether or not sub-contracting is permitted by the contract between the first operator and the person who made the booking.
For the avoidance of doubt (and subject to any relevant contract terms), a contract of hire between a person who made a private hire booking at an operating centre in London and the London PHV operator who accepted the booking remains in force despite the making of arrangements by that operator for another contractor to provide a vehicle to carry out that booking as sub-contractor.
6Requirement for private hire vehicle licence.I1
A vehicle shall not be used as a private hire vehicle on a road in London unless a private hire vehicle licence is in force for that vehicle.
The driver and operator of a vehicle used in contravention of this section are each guilty of an offence.
The owner of a vehicle who permits it to be used in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence.
It is a defence in proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) for the driver or operator to show that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the vehicle being used in contravention of this section.
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
In this section “private hire vehicle licence” means—
except where paragraph (b) or (c) applies, a London PHV licence;
if the vehicle is in use for the purposes of a hiring the booking for which was accepted outside London in a controlled district, a licence under section 48 of the 1976 Act issued by the council for that district; and
if the vehicle is in use for the purposes of a hiring the booking for which was accepted in Scotland, a licence under section 10 of the M1Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (in this Act referred to as “the 1982 Act”),
and for the purposes of paragraph (b) or (c) it is immaterial that the booking in question is a sub-contracted booking.
This section does not apply to a vehicle used for the purposes of a hiring for a journey beginning outside London in an area of England and Wales which is not a controlled district.
9Fitness of licensed vehicles.I1
A constable or authorised officer has power at all reasonable times to inspect and test, for the purpose of ascertaining its fitness, any vehicle to which a London PHV licence relates.
If a constable or authorised officer is not satisfied as to the fitness of such a vehicle he may by notice to the owner of the vehicle—
require the owner to make the vehicle available for further inspection and testing at such reasonable time and place as may be specified in the notice; and
if he thinks fit, suspend the London PHV licence relating to that vehicle until such time as a constable or authorised officer is satisfied as to the fitness of the vehicle.
A notice under subsection (2)(b) shall state the grounds on which the licence is being suspended and the suspension shall take effect on the day on which it is served on the owner.
A licence suspended under subsection (2)(b) shall remain suspended until such time as a constable or authorised officer by notice to the owner directs that the licence is again in force.
If a licence remains suspended at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which a notice under subsection (2)(b) was served on the owner of the vehicle—
a constable or authorised officer may by notice to the owner direct that the licence is revoked; and
the revocation shall take effect at the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the owner is served with that notice.
An owner may appeal against a notice under subsection (2)(b) or (5) to a magistrates’ court.
11Prohibition of taximeters.I1
No vehicle to which a London PHV licence relates shall be equipped with a taximeter.
If such a vehicle is equipped with a taximeter, the owner of that vehicle is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
In this section “taximeter” means a device for calculating the fare to be charged in respect of any journey by reference to the distance travelled or time elapsed since the start of the journey (or a combination of both).
12Requirement for private hire vehicle driver’s licence.
No vehicle shall be used as a private hire vehicle on a road in London unless the driver holds a private hire vehicle driver’s licence.
The driver and operator of a vehicle used in contravention of this section are each guilty of an offence.
The owner of a vehicle who permits it to be used in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence.
It is a defence in proceedings against the operator of a vehicle for an offence under subsection (2) for the operator to show that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the vehicle being used in contravention of this section.
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
In this section “private hire vehicle driver’s licence” means—
except where paragraph (b) or (c) applies, a London PHV driver’s licence;
if the vehicle is in use for the purposes of a hiring the booking for which was accepted outside London in a controlled district in England and Wales, a licence under section 51 of the 1976 Act issued by the council for that district; and
if the vehicle is in use for a hiring the booking for which was accepted in Scotland, a licence under section 13 of the 1982 Act,
and for the purposes of paragraph (b) or (c) it is immaterial that the booking in question is a sub-contracted booking.
This section does not apply to the use of a vehicle for the purposes of a hiring for a journey beginning outside London in an area of England and Wales which is not a controlled district.
13ALondon PHV driver's licences for persons subject to immigration controlF1
Subsection (2) applies if—
a London PHV driver's licence is to be granted to a person who has been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for a limited period (“the leave period”);
the person's leave has not been extended by virtue of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 (continuation of leave pending variation decision); and
apart from subsection (2), the period for which the licence would have been granted would have ended after the end of the leave period.
The licence must be granted for a period which ends at or before the end of the leave period.
Subsection (4) applies if—
a London PHV driver's licence is to be granted to a person who has been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for a limited period; and
the person's leave has been extended by virtue of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 (continuation of leave pending variation decision).
The licence must be granted for a period which does not exceed six months.
A London PHV driver's licence ceases to be in force if the person to whom it was granted becomes disqualified by reason of the person's immigration status from driving a private hire vehicle.
If subsection (5) applies to a licence, the person to whom it was granted must, within the period of 7 days beginning with the day after the day on which the person first became disqualified, return the licence and the person's driver's badge to the licensing authority.
A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (6) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction—
to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and
in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day during which an offence continues after conviction.
The Secretary of State may by regulations amend the amount for the time being specified in subsection (7)(b).
21Production of documents.I1
The holder of a London PHV operator’s licence or a London PHV driver’s licence shall at the request of a constable or authorised officer produce his licence for inspection.
The owner of a vehicle to which a London PHV licence relates shall at the request of a constable or authorised officer produce for inspection—
the London PHV licence for that vehicle;
the certificate of the policy of insurance or security required in respect of the vehicle by Part VI of the M1Road Traffic Act 1988.
A document required to be produced under this section shall be produced either forthwith or—
if the request is made by a constable, at any police station within London nominated by the licence holder or vehicle owner when the request is made, or
if the request is made by an authorised officer, at such place as the officer may reasonably require,
before the end of the period of 6 days beginning with the day on which the request is made.
A person who without reasonable excuse contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
27Obstruction of authorised officers etc.
A person who wilfully obstructs a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
A person who, without reasonable excuse—
fails to comply with any requirement properly made to such person by a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act; or
fails to give a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act any other assistance or information which he may reasonably require of such person for the purpose of performing his functions under this Act,
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
A person who makes any statement which he knows to be false in giving any information to an authorised officer or constable acting in pursuance of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
28Penalty for false statements.
A person who knowingly or recklessly makes a statement or furnishes information which is false or misleading in any material particular for the purpose of procuring the grant or renewal of a licence under this Act, or the variation of an operator’s licence under section 18, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
29Saving for vehicles used for funerals and weddings.
Nothing in this Act applies to any vehicle whose use as a private hire vehicle is limited to use in connection with funerals or weddings.
31Prohibition of certain advertisements.I1
This section applies to any advertisement—
indicating that vehicles can be hired on application to a specified address in London;
indicating that vehicles can be hired by telephone on a telephone number being the number of premises in London; or
on or near any premises in London, indicating that vehicles can be hired at those premises.
No such advertisement shall include—
any of the following words, namely “taxi”, “taxis”, “cab” or “cabs”, or
any word so closely resembling any of those words as to be likely to be mistaken for it,
(whether alone or as part of another word), unless the vehicles offered for hire are London cabs.
An advertisement which includes the word “minicab”, “mini-cab” or “mini cab” (whether in the singular or plural) does not by reason only of that fact contravene this section.
Any person who issues, or causes to be issued, an advertisement which contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that—
he is a person whose business it is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements;
he received the advertisement in question for publication in the ordinary course of business; and
he did not know and had no reason to suspect that its publication would amount to an offence under this section.
In this section—
“advertisement” includes every form of advertising (whatever the medium) and references to the issue of an advertisement shall be construed accordingly;
“telephone number” includes any number used for the purposes of communicating with another by electronic means; and “telephone” shall be construed accordingly.
35APersons disqualified by reason of immigration statusF1
For the purposes of this Act a person is disqualified by reason of the person's immigration status from carrying on a licensable activity if the person is subject to immigration control and—
the person has not been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom; or
the person's leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom—
is invalid;
has ceased to have effect (whether by reason of curtailment, revocation, cancellation, passage of time or otherwise); or
is subject to a condition preventing the person from carrying on the licensable activity.
Where a person is on immigration bail within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016—
the person is to be treated for the purposes of this Act as if the person had been granted leave to enter the United Kingdom; but
any condition as to the person's work in the United Kingdom to which the person's immigration bail is subject is to be treated for those purposes as a condition of leave.
For the purposes of this section a person is subject to immigration control if under the Immigration Act 1971 the person requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.
For the purposes of this section a person carries on a licensable activity if the person—
operates a private hire vehicle; or
drives a private hire vehicle.
35BImmigration offences and immigration penaltiesF1
In this Act “immigration offence” means—
an offence under any of the Immigration Acts;
an offence under section 1 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 of attempting to commit an offence within paragraph (a); or
an offence under section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 of conspiracy to commit an offence within paragraph (a).
In this Act “immigration penalty” means a penalty under—
section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”), or
section 23 of the Immigration Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”).
For the purposes of this Act a person to whom a penalty notice under section 15 of the 2006 Act has been given is not to be treated as having been required to pay an immigration penalty if—
the person is excused payment by virtue of section 15(3) of that Act; or
the penalty is cancelled by virtue of section 16 or 17 of that Act.
For the purposes of this Act a person to whom a penalty notice under section 15 of the 2006 Act has been given is not to be treated as having been required to pay an immigration penalty until such time as—
the period for giving a notice of objection under section 16 of that Act has expired and the Secretary of State has considered any notice given within that period; and
if a notice of objection was given within that period, the period for appealing under section 17 of that Act has expired and any appeal brought within that period has been finally determined, abandoned or withdrawn.
For the purposes of this Act a person to whom a penalty notice under section 23 of the 2014 Act has been given is not to be treated as having been required to pay an immigration penalty if—
the person is excused payment by virtue of section 24 of that Act; or
the penalty is cancelled by virtue of section 29 or 30 of that Act.
For the purposes of this Act a person to whom a penalty notice under section 23 of the 2014 Act has been given is not to be treated as having been required to pay an immigration penalty until such time as—
the period for giving a notice of objection under section 29 of that Act has expired and the Secretary of State has considered any notice given within that period; and
if a notice of objection was given within that period, the period for appealing under section 30 of that Act has expired and any appeal brought within that period has been finally determined, abandoned or withdrawn.
39Consequential amendments and repeals.
1I1
In section 75 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (exemptions), after subsection (2A) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(2B)Paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 46(1) of this Act shall not apply to the use or driving of a vehicle, or to the employment of a driver of a vehicle, if—
(a)a London PHV licence issued under section 7 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 is in force in relation to that vehicle; and
(b)the driver of the vehicle holds a London PHV driver’s licence issued under section 13 of that Act.”
2I1
In section 79 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (vehicles excluded from regulation as private hire vehicles), after the word “1982” there shall be inserted the words “ , in the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 ”.
3I1
In section 21 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (offences), after subsection (3) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(3A)Subsection (1)(b) above does not apply to the operation of a vehicle within an area in respect of which its operation or its driver is not licensed if there are in force—
(a)in respect of the vehicle, a licence under section 7 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998; and
(b)in respect of its driver, a licence under section 13 of that Act.”
4I1
In section 13(3) of the Transport Act 1985 (defined terms for sections 10 to 13 of that Act), in the definition of “licensed hire car”, at the end there shall be inserted the words “ or section 7 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 ”.
Schedule 2RepealsI1I2
| Chapter | Short title | Extent of repeal |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 c. 7. | London Cab Act 1968. | Sections 4 and 4A. |
| 1973 c. 20. | London Cab Act 1973. | The whole Act. |
| 1990 c. 42. | Broadcasting Act 1990. | In Schedule 20, paragraph 10. |
| 1992 c. 42. | Transport and Works Act 1992. | Section 62(2). |