EDITORIAL
Page 13
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Make them pay
Seldom a week passes without Licensing Authorities being subjected to the indignity of calling public inquiries only to find that the operator or applicant fails to appear. Often no apology is tendered either at that time or subsequently, but in order to ensure that justice is seen to be done the LA invariably calls a further inquiry. Where the inquiry is in pursuit of an 0-licence application after the second futile attempt, the application is usually dismissed "for lack of prosecution". Where it is to give the operator the opportunity to show cause why his licence should not be revoked, suspended or otherwise curtailed, then it must be continued until the I.A has the opportunity to hear the case.
The non appearance of applicants or Section 69• offenders is not only discourteous but is costly and time consuming. The regularity of such cases not only serves to underline how simple it is to obtain an operators' licence, but how cheaply it is regarded.
It would surely be a big step in the right direction if some form of financial penalty were to be introduced to the system. For example, why should not an applicant for an operators' licence be required to place a deposit of £100 with the LA for every vehicle he sought to have authorized on the 0 licence? The deposit could be returned — either after the licence has been granted in Chambers or as soon as the applicant appeared before the Licensing Authority. This would almost certainly ensure attendance, and would be some proof that the applicant had finance to service the v'ehicle for the first few months.
Similarly, when a notice is issued calling an operator to a Section 69 hearing he could be required to lodge a deposit of £100 per vehicle with the LA, which would be returnable when the operator appeared in court — whether or not the LA took action against the licence.
Neither suitable applicants nor reputable operators would have anything to fear from such a scheme, but it would surely go a long way towards eliminating the number of cases which are dismissed for lack of prosecution.