A RAFT of new rules for private hire car firms and hackney carriages in Bradford were given the go ahead at a tense meeting today.

There was standing room only in City Hall’s banqueting hall as cabbies turned out to hear the proposals being discussed at a meeting of the Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee.

The changes mean owners of licensed vehicles will now be required to display a safeguarding window sticker, encouraging people to report child sexual exploitation, produce a “code of conduct” on how employees should behave, and conduct adequate background checks and provide training for those who work within their business. New conditions will also be introduced from September on the duration of driver and operator licenses and there will be an increase in retest fees if vehicles fail, following a “failure to improve vehicle safety inspection results”.

A report to the committee outlined that 40 per cent of licensed vehicles are still failing the inspections, with 20 per cent being for “serious or multiple point failures”.

Vehicle owners will also be required to provide a certificate of safety and maintenance. The report said the conditions would encourage good practice and “increase the safety of the travelling public”.

Taxi drivers slammed the council’s consultation process and criticised the hike in retest fees.

Officer Carol Stos told the meeting that the conditions had been brought forward in meetings last October and an electronic survey had been sent out to operators. When there had been little take up, a reminder was sent and the closing date was extended, but out of a possible 7,500 responses, just 123 were received.

Javid Akhtar, from the Yorkshire Professional Driver’s Association, said: “Please defer this meeting for a further consultation with stakeholders so we can try to find a solution. We feel the consultation has not been taken to the level it should have done.”

Zanith Hussain, chair of the Private Hire Association Bradford, said he was “flabbergasted” that so few people had responded and nothing was done about it.

Mohammed Khan, from the Hackney Carriage Owners and Drivers Association, said the rise in retest fees, particularly a rise from £20 to £75 for five minor faults, would be a “burden” on drivers.

Committee members Councillor Mohammed Amran (Lab, Heaton) said he also had “serious concerns” about the consultation process, while councillor Alan Wainwright (Lab, Tong) said: “My conclusion is that it appears that operators have not passed on information from the licensing. That really concerns me. I think you should be taking it up with your operators.”

Chairing the meeting, Councillor David Warburton (Labour, Wyke) said the committee needed to go ahead with the plans because of the “duty to look after people”. The plans were passed, with the added resolution that in future, drivers should be notified directly of any consultation process, as far as possible, where an email address has been provided.