A taxi driver has been left £800 out of pocket for challenging Plymouth City Council's strict new rules on approved clothing. The Plymouth driver, whom PlymouthLive did not name, appealed against the council's decision on December 22, 2021 when it suspend his hackney carriage driver's licence.
Plymouth Magistrates' Court warned him however that he should have asked for a Judicial Review in the High Court. The hearing, which took place earlier this month, is understood to have centred around the council's insistence that drivers abide by it's policy on a dress code which bans jeans, open sandals and t-shirts.
As reported by PlymouthLive in 2018, the dress code was originally set to see drivers wearing collared shirts or blouses with a ban on any football tops, hoodies or trainers. A more 'relaxed' set of rules was rubber-stamped by the council following an outcry by taxi drivers- but the jeans remained banned, reports Plymouth Live. The driver is understood to have argued that the council did not follow the correct procedure and thus its decision to suspend his taxi licence for five days was incorrect.
According to court documents however, magistrates said the council was "within their powers and authority to make said decision in accordance with policy, code of conduct, byelaws and statute". The document also stated that the driver admitted he was aware and understood the policy and "set out to breach it to have [his] day in court."
The magistrates argued that the "correct venue to challenge legality of council policy and law is Judicial Review in the High Court". Adding that the council's decision was "reasonable, proportionate and lawful".
They stated: "We have the power to consider the council decisions and whether correct decision reached. We can accept the application and dismiss the suspension or we can accept the decision and either keep suspension or vary it. We dismiss the appeal as we found the right decision was made, and it was both reasonable and proportionate and within the councils power to do so."
Magistrates dismissed the driver's appeal and ordered him to pay Plymouth City Council's £800 legal costs. A member of the Plymouth Licensed Taxi Association, who asked not to be named, said they were aware of the case and believed the council was still being 'unreasonable'.
They said: "Yes, clothing shouldn't be torn or tattered or dirty or scrappy, we agree with that. But it is unreasonable to object to driver's wearing jeans. Jeans appear to be entirely appropriate for councillors to wear during council work.
"When you go out in a taxi, you may end up having a puncture, or a fan belt goes, or you have to lift items into the vehicle for a passenger, or you have to clear seats if they've been left a mess. You don't want to be wearing an expensive pair of smart suit trousers - you want something hard-wearing and practical. It's about what is considered a reasonable standard of dress.
"What's unfair about this is the council has written it's policy and we can't argue it unless someone takes it all the way to the High Court and there can't be that many taxi drivers who have the time and money to do that. We still think it's unfair and in this instance one driver who tried to challenge it is now hundreds of pounds out of pocket."
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson refused to comment about an individual case but stated that the council did not take licensed taxi drivers to court - the taxi driver themselves can appeal to the court against the taxi licensing committee's decision.
"We use a penalty point scheme for dealing with minor offences committed by Hackney Carriage and private hire licence holders. Points are issued via a written notice to licence holders who are found to be in breach of legislation, byelaws, our taxi licensing policy or conditions of licence.
"If a licence holder accumulates 12 points or more within a rolling period of 36 months then their licence will be subject to a review by our Taxi Licensing Committee. If a licence holder is unhappy about a Taxi Licensing Committee decision they may go to court to appeal that decision.
"Since 2018, 79 penalty point notices have been issued for breaches of the dress code standards within the Code of Good Conduct. Of the 68 drivers to receive notices, one has accumulated 12 penalty points or more for failure to adhere to the dress code standards.
"The full Code of Good Conduct and Penalty Points Scheme can be found on our website at new.plymouth.gov.uk/taxi-licensing, under ‘taxi policy, guidance and byelaws’."
