CASTLE POINT TAXI & PRIVATE HIRE NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 3 of 4 November, 2008
be able to assist by passing on sightings or
Joint Meeting between Castle Point Borough
information. It is hoped there will be a two way flow
Council Licensing Members, Officers, the Hackney of information and that all will benefit from this Carriage /Private Hire Trade and Operators
initiative. To facilitate this please make a note of the
Held on the 29th August minutes are now on the Castle following contact numbers and mention you are a point web site for viewing.
member of Castle Point Taxi Watch when phoning.
07791 680413 –To report intelligence and information
between 8am & 12mn to local officers.
Changes to the Dartford Tunnel Crossing 0300 3334444 – To report offences and non-urgent
incidents. Always ask for an incident number/crime
The crossing will be free of charge to all vehicles
between the hours of 10pm – 6am starting from 10pm
999- As usual for emergencies.
on the 15th November 2008. Any DART tags will
Note, at the request of the trade it will not be made
register your crossing but your account will not be
common knowledge that Taxis Watch exists. It is
hoped all involved will benefit by an exchange of
information. Rank Closures Please note the taxi rank outside Canvey Island Library will be temporally closed on Saturday 29th November between 2pm-5pm and Sunday 7th December between 12 noon – 2pm for Christmas festivities to take place. Changes of address
Changes of address must be notified within seven days
in writing or by electronic means to the Licensing
Unit. Official documents such as vehicle registration,
South Orbital Way Dartford DA1 5PR located off the A282 at Junction 1a
insurance certificates and driving licences must be
presented to the Licensing Unit as soon a reasonably
Taxi Watch Private Hire Bookings
The first meeting of this newly formed group was held All licensed Private Hire vehicles must be prebooked on 17th September. Further meetings will be held on a
through an operator otherwise passengers are not
regular basis. It is intended that some police incidents
insured. This could result in the driver committing an
of a local nature will be circulated to drivers who may
offence and liable to being dealt with at magistrate’s
of trained and dedicated advisors help smokers to work
together to help each other quit and stay stopped.
Private Hire Driver’s renewals
Smokers are set a quit date and the advisors are on
Renewals for Private Hire drivers are due on the 1st hand to ease them through the tough withdrawal times. April 2009. Letters and forms will be sent out soon to enable Criminal Record checks to be carried out in Smokers may be referred to the service by their GPs or good time. Castle Point Borough Council now requires may contact the service direct. Once offered a place all drivers to have a DVLA check on their driving on the programme smokers are encouraged to quit with licences to confirm the correct details are held and the aid of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), forms will be enclosed for completion.
Bupropion SR (Zyban) or Varenicline (Champix) as
New photos will be taken during your appointment and prescribed by their GP. full payment will be required.
The staff of the Stop Smoking Service are only too
Insurance
aware of the strong temptation to smoke again, even
Please be reminded it is the drivers responsibility to
after quitting. Anyone who has attended one of the 7-
show there is a current certificate of insurance in force week programmes can return to a venue of their choice for their vehicle at all times. Failure to do so could
at any time to obtain ongoing support and advice.
result in you vehicle being suspended. Also, be aware
whilst a vehicle is licensed by Castle Point Borough
So, if you’re keen to give up smoking, don’t delay –
Council it can only be driven by drivers who are
make contact today, and you could be on your way to
becoming an ex-smoker within a very short time –
there are spaces available on programmes in the near
Staff Changes
We have sadly said goodbye to Mandy who has gone to Basildon as their Senior Licensing Officer. The To get started contact the service on 01268 464511 or email Team wish her all the best in her new position.
REPORTS OF PRICE FIXING BY PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE OPERATORS
We have two new members of staff. Wendy Hickey, who has taken over Jan’s duties as Admin Assistant The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has recently received and Ryan Jevens who is the new Taxi Services several reports that certain private hire vehicle operators Development Officer employed by Essex County may have entered into agreements with their competitors to Council and Based in our office covering the Thames fix prices. In several instances, competitors appear to have
agreed on prices on a per mile or minimum journey cost
Gateway Quality Taxi Partnership. We all welcome basis.
Such conduct would be illegal under the Competition Act
1998. Under that Act, any business found to have participated in an unlawful price-fixing agreement may be fined up to 10 per cent of its total turnover. In addition, the
Did you know that there is FREE NHS funded help
Enterprise Act 2002 makes it a criminal offence for an individual dishonestly to take part in a price-fixing
available in South Essex? What’s more, this is a
agreement or other form of cartel conduct between
service with a proven track record – a 60-65% success competing businesses. Anyone convicted of the offence
rate! The Stop Smoking Service and their trained
could receive a maximum if five years imprisonment and/or
staff have been successfully helping smokers to quit
You should not be discussing the prices you charge with
your competitors. If you are currently doing this you should
The Service runs support programmes over 7 weeks.
stop immediately. You are not prevented from changing the
Each session lasts approximately 1½ hours and the
price of your services, but all your pricing decisions should
programmes are available in Benfleet, Rayleigh and
be made without discussion with your competitors.
If further instances of similar conduct come to our attention,
we may take formal enforcement action. For more inform
The programmes offer motivational support, addresses If you have any queries, please call OFT Enquiries on
nicotine addition and an understanding of the huge
08457 22 44 99.
psychological impact of quitting smoking. The team
Rethinking Innovation in Pharmaceutical R&D Health & Life Sciences The pharmaceutical industry is facing a challenge to be productive. One of thesolutions to this problem is for the industry to better harness innovation todeliver more and better drugs through the pipeline. But what is innovation and how can it deliver higher performance throughmore valuable drugs? Historically, p
Methods for Reduction of Sternal Wound Infection Francis Fynn–Thompson, MD, and Thomas J. Vander Salm, MD Deep sternal wound infections continue to be an uncommon but potentially devastating complication of cardiac surgical procedures. Numerous risk factors have been identified but only a few can be characterized as modifiable. These risk factors and their modifications are reviewed in
CASTLE POINT TAXI & PRIVATE HIRE NEWSLETTER 
offence and liable to being dealt with at magistrate’s
of trained and dedicated advisors help smokers to work
together to help each other quit and stay stopped.
Private Hire Driver’s renewals