Mind Your Language!

An independent review into Bradford council’s taxi licensing service was carried out by Leeds council inspectors and its findings published this week.

This'll be good!

The Bradford council service, which deals with 330 Hackney Carriage drivers and 3,970 Private Hire drivers, is responsible for licensing and inspecting vehicles to ensure they do not pose a risk to the public. Bradford council now asks drivers who want a taxi licence to speak to an officer in person rather than by telephone.

It was urged to take action over concerns that new applicants were asking family members to complete forms and answer questions for them over the phone. The review said that 40 per cent of those who applied for a licence and attended an appointment could not complete the application because they failed the English comprehension and literacy test or due to wrong or incomplete information.

Hmmm, It's all coming back to me...

The Leeds city council authors said these concerns “require genuine consideration”. It said: “Part of the English comprehension tests involves how the applicant responds to simple questions over the telephone so if another family member is doing this on behalf of the applicant the test is being compromised.

“Certainly that would be exposed when the applicant comes in for his appointment and has difficulty answering further questions with an officer over the counter, but that could be valuable time wasted if the applicant will never be able to pass the English comprehension test.”

Well, quite! So, a damning indictment of the council?

Coun Sarah Ferriby of Bradford council said: “The council has always had confidence in its taxi licensing service but it’s great to see that an independent review has found that such confidence is fully justified. We have received some complaints about the service and we have answered those issues that have been raised.”

Hmmm. I think the drivers aren't the only ones who could do with English language lessons.

H/T: Tommy Robinson via Twitter