Website and telephone payments Sunday 19 May
Our website and telephone payment systems are unavailable between 9am and 2pm on Sunday 19 May. You will not be able to pay for any council services on our website or over the phone during this time.
1.1 In accordance with North Yorkshire Council's hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy and the Department for Transport's statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards, private hire operators are required to formulate a policy on assessing the suitability of any person responsible for taking bookings and dispatching vehicles on their behalf.
1.2 Individuals responsible for taking bookings and dispatching vehicles on behalf of a private hire operator do not require a licence. However, any such members of staff are placed in a position of trust and will have access to information relating to passengers and therefore may pose a significant risk to public safety.
1.3 In order to manage any risk to the public and to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, the private hire operator must be satisfied that any such individual is suitable to undertake duties of this nature.
2.1 The objectives of the policy are:
3.1 Applicants or employees responsible for taking bookings and dispatching vehicles on behalf of the private hire operator are required to produce an annual basic disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service in order for the private hire operator to satisfy itself that the individual poses no threat to the public and has no links to serious criminal activity. Basic disclosures can be obtained from the government website.
3.2 If the applicant has lived overseas in the ten year period leading up to the date of application, they must produce a criminal record check or ‘certificate of good conduct’ from the relevant country or the relevant embassy in the UK. Information on the application process is available on the government website.
3.3 In all cases, the basic Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure and / or certificate of good conduct must be less than three months old at the time that it is provided to the private hire operator for consideration.
3.4 No criminal record check or certificate of good conduct will be required for any individuals in possession of:
3.5 The private hire operator will ensure compliance with data protection requirements in accordance with guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
4.1 Any applicant and employee responsible for taking bookings and dispatching vehicles must disclose to the private hire operator in writing within 48 hours the details of any arrest, criminal charge or conviction imposed upon him or her. The same applies to any simple cautions, fixed penalties, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency licence endorsements and community resolutions.
5.1 The private hire operator shall keep and maintain a register of all staff responsible for taking bookings and / or dispatching vehicles. The register will contain as a minimum:
5.2 The register shall be made available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of North Yorkshire Council subject to data protection requirements.
6.1 The private hire operator will consider the suitability of all applicants and employees with responsibilities for taking bookings and dispatching vehicles. The suitability assessment must be carried out annually.
6.2 The private hire operator will need to have sight of a recent basic Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure - no more than three months old - when assessing the suitability of an applicant or employee.
6.3 The private hire operator will make a record of each individual suitability assessment on the form provided and the following guidelines will be applied in each instance:
View the template private hire operator booking and dispatch staff assessment (pdf / 156 KB).