It's All Going On In The BackGround

Sarah ChampionShadow Minister (Home Office)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the letter of the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the right hon. Member for Rotherham on 8 July 2016, on clause 145 of the Policing and Crime Bill, when the Government expects to publish a timetable for its (a) consultation on tax and private hire vehicle licensing and (b) publication of guidance.

Andrew JonesParliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government expects to publish the timetable for the full public consultation on the local authority Best Practice Guidance for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles in advance of Royal Assent of the Policing and Crime Bill. The government aims to launch the full public consultation upon Royal Assent of the Bill.

The Guidance will be published following completion of the full public consultation and once any amendments have been made.

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Former Deputy Director of Security Industry Authority sentenced over £37k fraud.

A former Deputy Director of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been jailed after she defrauded the government body out of more than £37,000 for travel allowance payments to which she wasn’t entitled.

Charlotte Jennings, 45 (10/07/1971) of Green Hall Close, Atherton,pleaded guilty at the Inner London Crown Court today (Tuesday 13 September) to one count of fraud by abuse of a position of trust and one count of possession of articles for use in fraud. She was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 150 hours of unpaid work, she is also subject to a compensation order of £35,363.

Her partner, Nick Metcalfe, 50 (30/05/1966) of the same address also pleaded guilty to possession of articles for use in fraud and aiding fraud by false representation and he was sentenced to a 12 month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work.

In September 2013, Jennings was appointed Deputy Director of the SIA – the government body that regulates the security industry – and was posted to work from their offices based in Holborn, central London.

At the time she was appointed to the post, Jennings was living in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, so as part of her package, she was given a travel allowance, which would cover her weekly return trip to and from London and hotel accommodation in London during the working week. This came to around £25,000 per year and was agreed to last two years, but on the condition that she was residing in the north of England.

However, on 28 February 2014, Jennings moved to a flat in Bridgeman Road, Islington and began to live in London, but didn’t inform the SIA of the change of address as she was required to do so.

After SIA ordered an audit to be carried out in August 2015 on those receiving special travel allowance payments, Jennings then set about creating false bank statements to make it appear as though she was still travelling to and from Cheshire every week. She enlisted the help of her partner, Metcalfe, who helped her to create the false bank statements and got him to make it look like she was still purchasing train tickets and making hotel payments.

However, following the audit, the SIA became suspicious that Jennings was falsifying the statements and the case was referred to the City of London Police. Detectives arrested Jennings on 28 September 2015, seizing her laptop and phones as part of the investigation.

Jennings was arrested on 28 September 2015 and through their enquiries, detectives found that she had researched fake bank statements on her laptop and then tasked her partner to obtain and create fake bank statements that would show the necessary details to dupe the SIA. Officers compared the fake bank statements with the real ones, which showed spending patterns consistent with somebody living permanently in London and had no record of any train ticket or hotel payments.

From the time Jennings moved to London, until her fraud was discovered, she received just over £37,000 in travel expense payments.

Fraud Investigator Andy Cope, from the City of London Police said: “Jennings was in a senior position within a government agency, and one where the public would expect her to act with honesty and integrity. She knew that she was receiving travel payments that she wasn’t entitled to and deliberately withheld the fact that she’d moved to London. To make matters even worse, when her lies were about to catch up with her, she went even further by providing fake bank statements that she’d produced with the help of her partner.

“This sentence should serve as a stark warning to others in similar positions that fraud is a serious offence. Like Jennings, you could end up with a criminal conviction, lose your job or even face the very real prospect of spending time behind bars.”

CEO of the SIA, Alan Clamp said:

“The SIA does not tolerate any fraud. We have internal controls to identify such issues. These controls, coupled with a concern raised by a member of staff, enabled us to identify something suspicious had occurred on this occasion.

“This is an issue of one individual who has certainly not been a model citizen. It is disappointing that the actions of one person has the potential to cast a shadow over the integrity and the good work of our staff and the important work they do to protect the public”.

The City of London Police Fraud Squad takes on many of the UK’s most complex and significant fraud investigations. It includes units dedicated to combating money laundering and recovering the proceeds of crime.

The City of London Police is also home to Action Fraud (National Fraud Reporting Centre) and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, which together records and analyses thousands of reports of fraud each week. Further to this it hosts the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

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Statement from the Independent Taxi Alliance....Demarcation, not deregulation.

After the Mayor heralded a new era for London Taxis, the Independent Taxi Alliance, (ITA) have heralded a new era in trade demonstrations. 

The ITA will be inviting all drivers, no matter what colour lanyard, to attend the Mayors Question Time at city hall this Wednesday at 10 am. They will also be holding a demonstration on Monday 3rd October during the rush hours of 4pm till 7pm at a destination to be announced at a later date.

Further action could see night time demos on consecutive nights (Thursday, Friday, Satureday) which could paralyse parts of central Londons night life.

The ITA have published this list of accusations below, which they say make TfL NOT FIT FOR PURPOSR. 

• Endangering Londoners with watered down DBS on minicab drivers.

• Refusal to inform Londoners of u acceptable rate of minicab rapes and sexual assaults.

• Refusal to release statistics defining the astonishing  amount of minicab RTAs 

• Licensed minicab drivers without passing basic DVLA test

• Threatening licence revocation for taxi drivers refusing to comply with dangerous payment mandate

• Catching taxi earnings up to 5% on card transactions

• Condoning uninsured minicabs and inventing fictitious on off insurance

• Fabricating evidence of Uber landline in a failed bid to hoodwink the GLA

• Guilty of tutoring number on how to evade regulation

• Unmonitored 'out of office' liaison's and unlimited meetings with Uber

• Harassing taxi drivers am favouring minicab illegalities.

#NOMORE ... DEMARCATION NOT DEREGULATION 

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Mayors Statement To The Taxi Trade

Sadiq Khan heralds new era for London’s taxi and private hire trades

 

·         Far-reaching measures announced to protect the capital’s iconic black cab trade and drive up standards across the private hire industry

·         New Action Plan will deliver greenest taxi fleet in the world

·         Plans will help deliver a ‘truly world-class service for Londoners’

 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today heralded a new era for the capital’s taxi and private hire markets as he set out an unprecedented programme of far-reaching improvements that will drive up standards, boost the quality of service for Londoners and protect the future of London’s iconic black cabs.

 

The Mayor is determined to create a vibrant taxi and private hire market, with space for all providers to flourish. The Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan, launched today by the Mayor alongside Transport for London (TfL), includes specific new measures to support licensed taxi drivers, and sets out ambitious plans to enhance public safety, and also improve London’s air quality.  

 

Special new measures being introduced to help London’s black cab industry to continue to flourish include:

 

·         TfL will open up an extra 20 bus lanes for use by taxis this year and is asking London Boroughs to consider access for taxis to a further 40 on roads they control. 

 

·         The number of taxi ranks will also be increased by at least 20 per cent by 2020

 

·         The use of new  technology to provide customers with information to help connect them with taxis more quickly and easily  - adding taxi information to TfL’s journey planner by summer 2017

 

The iconic black cab trade – already recognised as the finest service of its type in any city – will also be helped to become the greenest in the world.

 

From next year, up to £5,000 will be available to drivers who scrap the oldest and most polluting taxis.  A grant of £3,000 will be provided towards the first 9,000 Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) taxis and TfL is asking the Government to guarantee the ‘plug-in car grant’ for these vehicles, which would take the total grant to £7,500.

 

From 1 January 2018 no more new diesel taxis will be licensed – helping to address London’s poor air quality and tackle the unacceptably high number of people dying each year because of air pollution.  

 

The new plans include new ‘zero emission’ ranks for drivers who pioneer green technology alongside a network of rapid electric charge points.

 

---- 

 

New technology is changing the way many Londoners access taxis and private hire vehicles, and the New Action Plan also addresses how regulation can be used to ensure safety standards are applied across the taxi and private hire markets.

 

A range of measures are also being introduced to enhance public safety, many of these were outlined in the recent Private Hire Regulations review. These include:

 

·         A formal English language requirement for all private hire drivers

·         The provision of driver and vehicle details to customers, including a photo of the driver, before the start of each journey

·         Even more robust insurance requirements

 

Other new initiatives to further drive up standards are now also underway, including quadrupling the number of on-street Compliance Officers, with 250 more dedicated officers on the streets by summer 2017.

 

By summer next year, TfL will also require that private hire drivers pass an advanced driving test before they can be licensed or relicensed.

 

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

 

“Our new Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan will help us deliver a truly world-class service for Londoners and create a vibrant taxi and private hire market where all providers can continue to flourish.

 

“From my first day at City Hall I have been determined to drive up standards and improve safety for every passenger in London, while protecting the future of our iconic black cabs that provide a unique and invaluable service for Londoners.”

 

 

Val Shawcross, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said:

 

“New measures such as opening up extra bus lanes and increasing the number of taxi ranks will help ensure our black cabs continue to thrive, and our proposals also include ground-breaking incentives to create the greenest taxi fleet in the world.

 

“A key part of our plan is to push ahead with important new measures to enhance public safety, including quadrupling the number of on-street Compliance Officers and requiring that private hire drivers pass an advanced driving test before they’re licensed. We must ensure every Londoner feels safe getting around our city, while creating a taxi and private hire market where all providers are able to thrive.”

 

Helen Chapman, TfL’s General Manager of Taxi and Private Hire, said:

“London’s iconic taxi trade is famous around the world and is a fundamental part of our public transport system. We need to support it and also ensure that standards in the private hire industry continue to rise so that both trades can flourish.  Passengers deserve the very best, professional service when they choose to travel in either a taxi or a private hire vehicle.

 

“Through this comprehensive action plan we will improve public safety by driving up standards across the private hire industry, provide the support black cab drivers need and deliver the world’s greenest taxi fleet.”

 

Steve McNamara, LTDA General Secretary said:

“The taxi trade welcomes this plan and recognises its commitment to raising safety standards in the Private Hire (PH) industry. We particularly welcome the Mayor’s decision to re-visit the requirement for Operator Insurance for PH vehicles and his request that Central Government define ‘Plying for Hire’ in statute.”

 

Notes

 

As part of the Action Plan, TfL has set aside £40 million to help drivers 'scrap' the oldest, most polluting taxis. This is in addition to £25 million funding for the £3,000 top-up grants.

 

From next year, owners of vehicles older than 10 years will have the option to receive a one-off 'scrap' payment of up to £5,000, depending on the age of the taxi, in return for no longer licensing it in London. The Mayor is calling on Government to support this initiative with a national diesel scrappage scheme to help drivers dispose of the vehicles and ensure they aren't used elsewhere in the UK.

 

As well as the measures that the Mayor and TfL can implement, there are a number of improvements that require agreement from the Government.  

 

TfL is lobbying the Government for powers to address cross-border hiring – when private hire journeys are made in the Capital in vehicles that are licensed elsewhere in the country. Powers are also being sought to deal with pedicabs, seize uninsured vehicles and automatically disqualify from driving anyone convicted of touting.

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Consultation For A Return To Normality On Torrington, Byng And Tavistock Place

Have you like me, had enough of the ridicules traffic restrictions imposed by the Lycra clad, cycling lunatics that seem to have taken over Camden Council. 

Not content with reducing the flow of traffic across the area, they now intend to go further and reduce road space even more. 

Having installed two massive segregated cycle lanes (either side of the one traffic lane, west to east along Torrington, Byng and Tavistock Place, they now intend to narrow the vehicle road space by extending the pavement. 

     ARTISTS IMPRESSION 

    REALITY.....GRIDLOCKING SURROUNDING AREA 

Want to know how the locals feel about Camden's temporary system: 

Click Links

>Read Marchmont News<

>Read Camden news journal <

Now is your chance to put a stop to any future madness and return the area to the way it was before this insane trial started. 

MAKE SURE YOU FILL IN THE CONSULTATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IT ONLY TAKES A COUPLE OF MINUTES.

If the trial layout is not made permanent, the street layout will go back to its former, pre-trial layout. 

To take part in the consultation, click the link below.

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Fight Fire With Fire ..... Sean Paul Day on TaxiApp.

We've already seen how de-regulation causes this race to the bottom. History has shown that it is not always the best person, team, product, ideology, or even idea that wins, but mostly it is those that have the most money, weaponry and/or exposure that are victorious. 

As a consequence, everyone loses. And it has been studied in great detail. 

History has shown a deregulated environment puts passengers in danger financially and physically, and leads to an unhealthy business environment – preventing companies from providing top quality service. 

It is of my firm opinion that the private hire industry is on course for UK wide deregulation. Whilst the consequences of this are not  known, the ramifications on the taxi trade could be monumental. 

On the back of tfl’s tentative admission that it was lawful for phd/v to show availability came news that the DVSA were going to scrap the taxi driver test from December 2016. 

Simply put, any PHV/D that is showing availability for work is plying for hire. Effectively, a concept that has defined our working model for over 150 years is no more. 

Yes, they have a particular way in which they ply their wares but then so do we. And instead of instructing all private hire drivers to undertake a similar driving standard requirement to taxi drivers, the policy makers have decided to scrap the taxi driver test altogether. The news of both has been secreted to the trade so surreptitiously it has garnered virtually no response at all.

Notably, the silence from our representatives is deafening. 

I'll be the first to admit, deregulation of the private hire bill has been my foreboding for some time and was the primary reason i chose to get on board taxiapp. Following a long night of existential angst, i concluded that the trade needed it’s own technological platform. To think otherwise, is to enslave ourselves to the whims of corporates who feign fondness for the history of our sweet, little localised trade. 

In a moment of frantic urgency, i called phil- one of taxiapp’s founder members convinced that a work force was being stockpiled in order to perform an en-masse take over of a vibrant, self sufficient  industry. Whilst it may not pan out that way, i'm still think  that a one tier service is what their gunning for. 

None of us can say where innovation will take us next, but it is safe to say, if we are not on the first  rung of the technological ladder we may not be afforded the chance to ascend to the second rung. 

Those working on Taxiapp have, unequivocally, done everything they can to protect the driver from  an en-masse takeover orchestrated by off shore business men (facilitated by our very own government bodies) and feel it is crucial that we are not distracted by dissenters (even trolls have trolls) who's misdirection would rather see us sold off to the next highest bidder.  

Although I've said a thousand times, the intention with Taxiapp has always been for the trade to regain control, and to be, at least, the eulogists of our own destination. One aspect I have realised since being part of the passionate and determined steering group behind Taxiapp is that business only has regard for business, and Taxiapp has in some weird way put us back on the map. No question then, if we as a trade want to be a formidable force to be reckoned with when our ranks and the street hail come under threat, then we have to make sure there is no chink in the taxi trade’s armour. 

It is as clear as day that our regulators have smoothed the way for us to be hijacked, nevertheless, each and every one of us  must accept the responsibility of promoting our industry- on a big scale- to remain valid, and it is imperative that we are in a position to challenge those who would readily take our place. Now is not the time to be suffering the tiredness of defeat. 

We at Taxiapp believe the fight has yet to enter the ring. Collectively we are a behemoth and by utilising our strengths affords us all  the opportunity to securely operate stronger than all the rest. By merely operating under someone else’s ownership means we are doomed to stagnate amongst the satnav swamp, or at worst not at all. 

Are you ready to fight our corner? 

Defeated, no more! 

Promte the street hail 

Promote the ranks 

Promote taxiapp 

In the words of that famous silent film star Charlie Chaplin, let us all unite.

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Where were you, when the world stopped turning ?

Locations:

New York City, New York, U.S.;

Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.;

Stonycreek Township near

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Date and Time:

September 11, 2001;

 8:46 a.m. – 10:28 a.m (EDT)

Targets:

World Trade Centre (AA11 and UA 175)

The Pentagon (AA77)

White House or U.S. Capitol (UA 93; failed)

Of the 2,996 fatalities that day, 67 were British nationals.

There were also 6,000+ non fatal injuries.

Rest In Peace 2,977 innocent victims 

Burn in Hell the 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists  

Please make time to watch this tribute to those who died on that September day, when the world stopped turning.

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