INTRODUCTION
1. The following document has been produced with the aim of providing best practice for Scottish local authorities on a range of licensing issues in relation to their powers to regulate taxis and private hire cars ( PHCs) and their drivers.
2. The best practice has been produced in accord with the Scottish Government's response of 10 March 2004 to the report of the Office of Fair Trading into the regulation of taxi and private hire vehicle services in the UK. One of the recommendations of the OFT report was that central government should promote and disseminate best practice in applying quality and safety regulations to assist licensing authorities in their role of regulating taxis and private hire cars. The Scottish Government agreed with this recommendation and committed to liaise with the Department for Transport ( DfT) in the production and dissemination of best practice in the interests of quality and safety.
3. In view of differences between Scottish legislation and that applicable in England and Wales it was necessary to tailor a Scottish version to reflect these differences and any variation in the Scottish Government's policy on particular licensing issues. For completeness this best practice refers to matters for which legislative responsibility is reserved to the Westminster government. Here we simply advise as to where specific best practice advice can be found.
4. In the preparation of appropriate Scottish best practice we considered views expressed through the Scottish Government's Progress Group forum, with representation from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA); the taxi and PHC trade; the National Association of Licensing and Enforcement Officers ( NALEO); the Scottish Consumer Council ( SCC) and the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland ( MACS).