Eleven East Ayrshire taxi drivers face licence suspensions over disability training non-compliance

This week, the Local Government Licensing Panel in East Ayrshire will consider the suspension of licences for eleven taxi drivers who failed to attend mandatory disability awareness training.

A council report outlines the issue, noting that the drivers were given at least three opportunities to attend the required training before being referred to the Licensing Panel. Despite multiple attempts by licensing staff to contact these drivers through letters, emails and phone calls, some remain unresponsive.

The training is a condition of their licences, intended to ensure that all taxi and private hire drivers in the region are adequately prepared to serve passengers with disabilities.

Regular sessions are held at the council headquarters, with the next one scheduled for 9 September.

The report highlights that some of the drivers may no longer be using their licences but have not officially surrendered them, leading to outdated records.

The Licensing Panel will now decide whether to proceed with suspensions for those who have failed to comply with the training requirement.