Taxi bosses reject call for new probe into claims by ‘whistle blower’
CHRIS GEE
In his letter to Stuart Sugarman, Coun Foxcroft wrote: “The blog by an apparent whistle-blower from within the council, includes details of how they were treated when they raised concerns.
“It alleges that licence applications were not being properly processed, with DBS checks missing for at least six months’ worth of applications.”
Rossendale council spokesperson said they were ‘disappointed’ at the ‘false’ allegations.
A spokesperson said: “These allegations are at least two years old. They were thoroughly investigated at the time and found not to have any basis.
“Our top priority as an authority which licenses taxis is the safety of passengers and we are satisfied safety has not been compromised.
“We are absolutely confident we have not issued any licences to those who should not have received one under the council’s policy.”
In February this year we revealed a crackdown had more than halved the number of Rossendale council cab licences in two years to 1,165.
The council hailed the impact of new ‘knowledge and conditions tests’ to improve standards and to clamp down on drivers operating outside the borough.
And in March authority rejected the criti- cism from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman accusing officers of ‘misleading’ councillors over a complaint about taxi licence processing delays in 2015.
The Ombudsman had previously recommended the council should pay the complainant £350 compensation.
But they declined, accusing him of ‘misunderstanding’ law.
The spokesperson added: “Over the last two years, we have worked to further strengthen our taxi licensing polices to ensuring both the public and drivers are safe.
“As a result of this work, we now have one of the best taxi licensing policies in the country.” ●● Crowds at Bacup and Stacksteads Carnival