LEGAL COMMENTARY: PUBLIC INQUIRIES
Page 28
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Watch these points.. .its your livelihood
I hear from an "informed source" that, at a recent gathering of Licensing Authorities a groupage of LA s, perhaps? a number of them expressed surprise at the failure of operators to prepare their cases adequately. Against that background, I think that it will be helpful to make some general observations about the proper approach to a hearing of this sort.
There are two situations in which operators can be faced with an inquiry. In the first instance the hearing can result from the Licensing Authority's dissatisfaction with some aspect of their operations. In the second instance the inquiry can result from either objections to, or representations against, an application to grant, vary, or renew a licence.
Clearly these hearings are different in their nature. In the first instance the Licensing Authority is conducting his own inquiry, in the second he is sitting in a judicial capacity to adjudicate between the two sides and there is, or ought to be, some difference in the operator's approach.
The Licensing Authority who wants to obtain some explanation for an operator's conduct as a result of, say, a number of overloading convictions, will issue a "call up" letter which will outline the legislation under which the action is being taken and also, and more importantly, give some indication of the reason for the hearing.
Sometimes the letter is not entirely clear and, if this is the case, write and ask for some fuller explanation. The Licensing Authority will not have prejudged the matter and within reason will give you assistance to ensure that you are not taken by surprise by any matters that he may raise at the hearing.
The Licensing Authority will expect you to be able to deal positively with his queries. You will need to be able to explain the circumstances in which overloading came to occur, and, and this is more important, he will expect you to show that action has been taken to prevent the situation arising again.
Cases involving GV9s in which there is inevitably a suggestion that that maintenance is inadequate need very careful consideration. Is your staffing adequate; are your systems sufficient; do your drivers have a real opportunity to record and action defects; and are tyre checks regular and competent?
It is important to try to have some positive evidence of improvement to show to the Licensing Authority. New record systems or a new tachograph reader may not only resolve the problem but will allow you to show that time and expense have been incurred in trying to overcome the problems.
Objections to, and representations against, an advertised licence application create not only different problems but also create problems in areas that are still unfamiliar to the haulage industry. It is I think, that lack of familarity which causes the lack of preparation that the Licensing Authorities had noticed.
I have one message which probably needs to be displayed in large neon letters, and it is this. No matter how long a haulage company has operated from its premises there may still be a valid objection or representation.
The rights of those wishing to oppose a licence vary with the nature of the application. Broadly a new application gives the widest rights, while a renewal without variation gives restricted rights to opposition, BUT NOTE that a renewal without variation can be opposed, A considerable amount of trouble can be avoided if you take expert advice before the application is lodged. It is not difficult to determine whether anyone is going to oppose your application; quite apart from those cases where there is a history of constant complaints from one or more neighbours or the local council, a quick look round will usually show whether there is any likely problem.
In the end result the test is the advertisement of the application. You will be advised if there is any opposition and, if you have not taken advice before, it is imperative to do so now, lathe first instance the law is technical and it is always worth looking at the legislation to see what is permitted. In a recent case the local authority was denied the right to appear before the Licensing Authority because it had failed to act precisely as the Act requires. In many cases, unhappily, a large number of local residents appear to object only to find that only a very few, if any, have any right to be heard. I say "unhappily", because an irritated neighbour who finds that the Licensing Authority will not listen to him because of some technical rule can easily become an extremely irritated neighbour.
At the end of an initial examination of the matter you will, or should, know exactly what faces you by way of objection, and you must then direct your efforts to dealing with the case.
Can you move the vehicles to some other part of the premises which will cause less trouble? Can you restrict either your early morning, or late night, operations? Do the complaints concern your vehicles or are they about other vehicles using your premises or the same road? Are the complaints exaggerated and, if they are, can you produce a schedule of your vehicles' activities to show that this is so?
The Licensing Authority's role is not easy; at the end of the day he must, and will, deal fairly with the matter, but at least your case is being heard by someone who has a good understanding of the problems with which you are faced. However, unless you help both him and yourself by preparing your case properly there may be little that he can do.
by Jonathan Lawton, CM's legal consultant.
MI am informed that no free leaflet or booklet on Code of Practice: Safety of Loads on Vehicles is any longer available from Traffic Area Offices (Legal Bulletin, May). However, a hardback book with this title is obtainable for £4.90, postage paid, from Her Majesty's Stationery Office. This book was reviewed in length in Commercial Motor, February 15.