Unannounced East Staffordshire enforcement checks on licensed taxis and waste carriers

East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Enforcement Team were joined by partner agencies of Staffordshire Police, DVSA, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, Safety Road Partnership and HMRC at Burton Albion Football Stadium on Tuesday 1 March, to undertake a multi-agency initiative undertaking inspections on various vehicles including licensed taxis and waste carriers.

The unannounced checks were undertaken to ensure the safety of the public through compliance with Council and statutory requirements.

The initiative sought to ensure that vehicles were in a roadworthy condition, were using the correct fuel, that anyone found to be carrying waste had the correct licence and that any licensed vehicle inspected complied with the requirements stated in the Council’s policy, including the vehicles displaying the required door panels and license plates, that drivers had their personal badge and that the vehicles carried the right equipment such as first aid kits and fire extinguishers.

In total ESBC checked 25 licensed vehicles and 15 other vehicles to ascertain whether they were carrying waste and were correctly licensed.

Of the 25 licensed vehicles checked, 16 were licensed by ESBC of which 2 had breaches of the requirements of their licence. The remaining 9 licensed vehicles were licensed by other Local Authorities and all issues identified were referred to the relevant Authority.

Of the vehicles checked to ascertain whether they were carrying waste, 5 drivers confirmed they did not carry waste, with the remaining 10 being correctly licensed, having had their Waste Carriers Licences checked.

Staffordshire Police carried out checks on 27 vehicles, two of the vehicle drivers were not wearing seatbelts and engaged with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and Staffordshire Safer Partnerships in education. Two drivers were also given advice on the spacing on their registration plates.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency checked 12 vehicles, 8 of which had various issues including tyres, exhausts and overloading. HMRC tested 11 vehicles to ensure the correct fuel was being used, all of which were compliant. Ongoing action will be taken where any breaches have occurred by the relevant agency.

Cllr Bernard Peters, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing Standards, said: “Unannounced checks, such as these, provide the Council a great insight into the operation of the Borough’s many taxis and waste carriers. These checks are just one example of the Council’s ongoing commitment to resident safety, with any breaches being reported and dealt with by the appropriate agency as soon as possible.”