The Immigration Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) (Licensing of Booking Offices: Scotland) Regulations 2017

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Booking Offices) Order 2009 ( S.S.I. 2009/145 ) (“the 2009 Order”) designates the use of premises for the carrying on of a business, part of which consists of taking bookings from members of the public for the hire of taxis or private hire cars, as an activity for which a licence is required under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 45) (“the 1982 Act ”). The 2009 Order provides that the licensing provisions in Part I of the 1982 Act will apply to these licences (“booking office licences”) with such modifications as set out in the Schedule to that Order. The licensing regime does not apply if the number of vehicles for which the bookings are taken is less than four.

Section 37 of and Schedule 5 to the Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19) (“the 2016 Act”) make provision to ensure that private hire vehicle licences and operator licences in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland (to which, in Scotland, booking office licences are the equivalent) cannot be held by a person who does not have permission to work in the United Kingdom. Paragraphs 29 to 32 of Schedule 5 to the 2016 Act amended the 1982 Act to make provision for such regulation of taxi hire and private hire vehicle licences in Scotland. These Regulations make consequential provision to make booking office licences subject to the same system of regulation by amending the 2009 Order.

Regulation 5 inserts a new article 3A into the 2009 Order so that local authorities are prohibited from granting a booking office licence to a person unless the authority is satisfied that the person is not disqualified by reason of the person’s immigration status from holding a booking office licence.

Regulation 6 amends the Schedule to the 2009 Order so that Part I of the 1982 Act has effect subject to the modifications contained in that Schedule as now amended.

Regulation 7 makes transitional provision.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary, or public sectors is foreseen.