Council rapped over cabbie licence delay

ROSSENDALE council has been rapped after a taxi driver could not work for nearly four months while waiting for paperwork.

The father of one cabbie complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that his daughter was unable to work for 16 weeks while waiting for the council to process her licence between May and September 2015. She had already secured a job, but could not work until she had the documents.

The Ombudsman has now recommended that the council should pay the driver £350 in recognition of the “uncertainty, anxiety, frustration and financial loss she experienced”.

They could not confirm if they had any outstanding complaints over the issue, which has dogged the council for years. Last September we revealed that prospective drivers were being told they would have to wait until the following January before being able to take the council’s new ‘basic skills test’ to get them on the roads.

The skills test was introduced as part of new policies cracking down on the trade following continuing criticism from other boroughs of the standards of thousands of Rossendale taxis operating outside the Valley.

In a statement, the Ombudsman said their investigation found the length of time taken to process the application did not amount to good administrative practice, adding: “When the man tried to complain to the council about his daughter’s treatment, the council refused to deal with him so he took his complaint to the Ombudsman.

“In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the council said the backlog was due to a significant increase in the number of new applicants, particularly from outside its area. The council has since allocated more staff to its licensing unit and has also introduced pre-requisite assessments and policies for those not intending to use their licence within the borough’s boundaries.”

A Rossendale council spokesperson said: “We will be considering the report at a future council meeting and we will be responding to the report after that meeting.”

The council must notify the Ombudsman within three months of action it has taken, or proposes to take.