Humberside Training Associates is supporting the Humber Taxi Association’s instigatation of legal action against Hull City Council over the scheduling of a ‘dangerous, gung-ho’ Licensing Committee Meeting

With the entire country in the middle of an unprecedented public lockdown, including all courts and schools closed under the threat of Covid-19, Hull City Council has taken it upon itself to convene a public meeting to consider the future of training requirements for taxi and private hire drivers.  

Humberside Training Associates, which has a dedicated taxi and private hire training centre off Hessle Road, Hull, offers the taxi and private hire driver B-TEC training to new and existing drivers.

Humberside Training Associates Director, Mr David Stuart, who is just coming to the end of a 14-day period of Coronavirus self-isolation, said: “We fully support the Humber Taxi Association’s legal action against  the council who are being gung-ho with people’s safety while also potentially rushing through taxi driver training changes without proper public consultation. 

“At best this is irresponsble, at worst it is downright dangerous, not just now in times of national emergency, but in the long term, by potentially replacing the B-TEC with the much weaker NVQ which has, for example, no wheelchair/disabled access training and no on-site invigilated examinations. As a former trainer with the British Transport Police, I can tell you that the NVQ is really open to potential abuse.

“Humberside Training Associates is one of the region’s main providers of professional, high quality training for taxi and private hire drivers, but we have had no notice of this planned meeting from the council, which we only heard about in the local media.

“Clearly, that is totally unacceptible, and shows that the meeting has been tabled with undue haste and needs to be postponed to a much later date, when God willing, the current Coronavirus threat will have abated. This will not only ensure people’s safety but also allow all interested parties time to prepare.”

Humberside Training Associates delivers Pearson-accredited Level 1 and 2 Numeracy and Literacy and the BTEC Level 2 Taxi training courses to taxi drivers in the region through the Humber Taxi Association at the association’s purpose built space at the Wilberforce Centre, off Hessle Road, Hull.

Pearson is due to end its accreditation of the course, which will in future be accredited by another provider, Highfield Qualifications.