Taxi - Knowsley Policy Quashed

On 7^th February the High Court quashed Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council’s Policy for private hire drivers.  The Council had experienced an increased number of applications for drivers from outside its geographical area and in March 2017 adopted a policy which it stated was designed to address this trend.

The Council required drivers to sign a declaration that they intended to drive predominantly within the Knowsley area and if this was found not to be the case then they were at risk of revocation of their Licence or non-renewal. The Policy was opposed by Uber and Delta Cars who are based in Merseyside.

Both Taxi companies argued in favour of the driver’s right to roam and they were not confined to the local area whereas the Council argued that a driver who failed to show a commitment to Knowsley and the concept of local licensing could be deemed unfit. 

Mr Justic Kerr accepted the arguments raised by the Taxi operators and quashed the element of the new Policy.

Philip Kolvin Q.C acting for Uber after the case stated “whilst this was not a difficult case, it was an important one.  It underlines that policies are there to guide the exercise of the statutory discretion. They cannot create a discretion which the Authority does not have.  That lesson applies not only to licensing but across all fields of public law”.