Lancashire dad complains to council as taxi driver who tied up his disabled son keeps his license
The father of an autistic boy who was unlawfully restrained by a taxi driver in Lancashire has launched a formal complaint against South Ribble Council after the driver in question had his license renewed.
The father of an autistic boy who was unlawfully restrained by a taxi driver in Lancashire has launched a formal complaint against South Ribble Council after the driver in question had his license renewed.
The taxi driver was convicted of two counts of assault after a court found he’d been using bungee ropes to tie the boy down as he drove him to school in 2012.
The boy's dad told us he was shocked to discover the cabbie was back out on the roads a year later.
He's sent a letter of formal complaint to the council on their decision to renew the driver's license.
South Ribble Council have sent Rock FM the following statement from the leader of South Ribble Council, Margaret Smith:
“We treat these matters with the utmost concern, and are determined to ensure swift action is taken when issues are brought to our attention.
“Decisions such as these are taken by the General Licensing Committee, a cross-party group of councillors which also has legal representation to ensure a fair hearing takes place. They make judgements based on the facts that are available to them at the time.
“However, we will refer this case to our Scrutiny Committee who will undertake a full review of the reasons behind the decision to allow this driver to keep his licence.
“Our biggest priority is to protect the public. We are currently undergoing a full review of every aspect of our licensing policies and procedures, to ensure that the service is effective going forward.”
This comes just weeks after a leaked report found that allegations that two children were sexually exploited by taxi drivers were not dealt with sufficiently enough by the authority.