Private Hire Vehicles (London) Bill

Private Hire Vehicles (London) Bill - continued	House of Commons
Licences: general provisions - continued

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Appeals.	25. - (1) This section applies to any appeal which lies under this Act to a magistrates' court against a decision of the Secretary of State, a constable or an authorised officer in relation to, or to an application for, a licence under this Act.
	(2) If the Secretary of State has exercised the power to delegate functions under section 24, such an appeal shall be heard by the magistrates' court for the petty sessions area in which the person to whom the functions have been delegated has his office or principal office.
	(3) Any such appeal shall be by way of complaint for an order and the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 shall apply to the proceedings.
	(4) The time within which a person may bring such an appeal is 21 days from the date on which notice of the decision appealed against is served on him.
	(5) In the case of a decision where an appeal lies, the notice of the decision shall state the right of appeal to a magistrates' court and the time within which an appeal may be brought.
	(6) An appeal against any decision of a magistrates' court in pursuance of an appeal to which this section applies shall lie to the Crown Court at the instance of any party to the proceedings in the magistrates' court.
	(7) Where on appeal a court varies or reverses any decision of the Secretary of State, a constable or an authorised officer, the order of the court shall be given effect to by the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, a constable or authorised officer.
Effect of appeal on decision appealed against.	26. - (1) If any decision of the Secretary of State against which a right of appeal is conferred by this Act-
	(a) involves the execution of any work or the taking of any action;
	(b) makes it unlawful for any person to carry on a business which he was lawfully carrying on at the time of the decision,
	the decision shall not take effect until the time for appealing has expired or (where an appeal is brought) until the appeal is disposed of or withdrawn.
	(2) This section does not apply in relation to a decision to suspend, vary or revoke a licence if the notice of suspension, variation or revocation directs that, in the interests of public safety, the decision is to have immediate effect.
Obstruction of authorised officers etc.	27. - (1) A person who wilfully obstructs a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
	(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse-
	(a) fails to comply with any requirement properly made to such person by a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act; or
	(b) fails to give a constable or authorised officer acting in pursuance of this Act any other assistance or information which he may reasonably require of such person for the purpose of performing his functions under this Act,
	is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
	(3) A person who makes any statement which he knows to be false in giving any information to an authorised officer or constable acting in pursuance of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
Penalty for false statements.	28. A person who knowingly or recklessly makes a statement or furnishes information which is false or misleading in any material particular for the purpose of procuring the grant or renewal of a licence under this Act, or the variation of an operator's licence under section 18, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
Saving for vehicles used for funerals and weddings.	29. Nothing in this Act applies to any vehicle whose use as a private hire vehicle is limited to use in connection with funerals or weddings.
	Further controls
Prohibition of certain signs, notices etc.	30. - (1) The Secretary of State may make regulations prohibiting the display on or from vehicles (other than licensed taxis and public service vehicles) of any sign, notice or other feature of a description specified in the order.
	(2) Before making the regulations the Secretary of State shall consult such bodies appearing to him to represent the London cab trade and the private hire vehicle trade in London as he considers appropriate.
	(3) The regulations may be expressed so that any prohibition applies only in specified circumstances or subject to specified exceptions.
	(4) Any person who-
	(a) drives a vehicle in respect of which a prohibition imposed by regulations under this section is contravened; or
	(b) causes or permits such a prohibition to be contravened in respect of any vehicle;
	is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
Prohibition of certain advertisements.	31. - (1) No advertisement-
	(a) indicating that vehicles can be hired on application to a specified address in London;
	(b) indicating that vehicles can be hired by telephone on a telephone number being the number of premises in London; or
	(c) on or near any premises in London, indicating that vehicles can be hired at those premises,
	shall include the word "taxi" or "cab" (whether in the singular or plural and whether alone or as part of another word) unless the vehicles offered for hire are London cabs or the advertisement makes it clear that they are not.
	(2) An advertisement which includes the words "minicab", "mini-cab" or "mini cab" (whether in the singular or plural) does not by reason only of that fact contravene this section.
	(3) Any person who issues, or causes to be issued, an advertisement which contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
	(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that-
	(a) he is a person whose business it is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements;
	(b) he received the advertisement in question for publication in the ordinary course of business; and
	(c) he did not know and had no reason to suspect that its publication would amount to an offence under this section.
	(5) In this section-
	"advertisement" includes every form of advertising (whatever the medium) and references to the issue of an advertisement shall be construed accordingly;
	"telephone number" includes any number used for the purposes of communicating with another by electronic means; and "telephone" shall be construed accordingly.
	Miscellaneous and supplementary
Regulations.	32. - (1) The Secretary of State may make regulations for any purpose for which regulations may be made under this Act or for prescribing anything which falls to be prescribed under any provision of this Act.
	(2) Regulations under this Act may-
	(a) make different provision for different cases;
	(b) provide for exemptions from any provision of the regulations; and
	(c) contain incidental, consequential, transitional and supplemental provision.
	(3) Any power to make regulations conferred by this Act is exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
Offences due to fault of other person.	33. - (1) Where an offence by any person under this Act is due to the act or default of another person, then (whether proceedings are taken against the first mentioned person or not) that other person is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
	(2) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate (or any person purporting to act in that capacity), he as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Service of notices.	34. - (1) Any notice authorised or required under this Act to be given to any person Act may be served by post.
	(2) For the purposes of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 any such notice is properly addressed to a London PHV operator if it is addressed to him at any operating centre of his in London.
	(3) Any notice authorised or required under this Act to be given to the owner of a vehicle shall be deemed to have been effectively given if it is given to the person who is for the time being notified to the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Act as the owner of the vehicle (or, if more than one person is currently notified as the owner, if it is given to any of them).
References to the owner of a vehicle.	35. - (1) For the purposes of this Act the owner of a vehicle shall be taken to be the person by whom it is kept.
	(2) In determining, in the course of any proceedings for an offence under this Act, who was the owner of a vehicle at any time it shall be presumed that the owner was the person who was the registered keeper of the vehicle at that time.
	(3) Notwithstanding that presumption-
	(a) it is open to the defence to show that the person who was the registered keeper of a vehicle at any particular time was not the person by whom the vehicle was kept at that time; and
	(b) it is open to the prosecution to prove that the vehicle was kept at that time by some person other than the registered keeper.
	(4) In this section "registered keeper", in relation to a vehicle, means the person in whose name the vehicle was registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994.

Prepared 16 January 1998