Care workers and community drivers benefit from red tape cut

Announcement set to benefit community-minded drivers
Image Creds: LeasePlan

After we highlighted the Department for Transport’s pledge to cut red tape in a previous blog post, we were interested to see a further announcement from transport minister Norman Baker which looks set to continue this trend.

His statement, released on the government news distribution service offered new guidelines to end confusion created by minicab laws that were implemented in 2006. Under these laws many parents and carers were being classified as minicab drivers, and as a result had to register as such before the council could allow them to provide lifts.

Norman Baker said; “Clearly parents helping out at a play group, or carers getting people to the doctor are not minicab drivers. I hope that by publishing this new guidance today these people will be able to get on with their vital activities, without the hassle or cost of getting a minicab licence.”

The government guidelines outline that the following groups should be exempt from having to license their vehicle:

•    Private ambulances, including emergency vehicles and vehicles which operate as part of a formal patient transport service;

•    Volunteers who share their car or provide lifts as part of their voluntary duties;

•    Care and support worker services, including those who care for adults in their own homes, in community settings or in residential or nursing care homes;

•    Childminders who carry children as passengers as part of their duties;

•    Rental car companies and garages offering ‘courtesy lift’ services for customers, for example whilst their car is in for repair.

For fleet drivers, the continued government focus on cutting the red tape associated with motoring should come as a welcome process, and we look forward to further developments as a result of this initiative in the coming months.