What price operator licensing?

It’s that time again – write another article hopefully of interest to operators and their customers who expect 24/7 delivery of all manner of products in this post-Covid world.

It’s a brave writer who, in the current economic climate, suggests fees being increased – so why am I doing it?

In a former role, I asked the DfT to consider two areas for review – the price of operator licences and the need for licences to be held in each of the traffic areas (being an old fogey I still call them these even though they were formally abolished a few years ago). It’s not for me to say what their response was – suffice to say we haven’t seen any changes and are unlikely to any time soon.

Is it therefore time for a licence fee review? We are all familiar with the saying “You get what you pay for” and I was struck by a recent comment from an indus- try expert asking if operator licensing really is the Cinderella service of regulators.

When speaking to operators I regularly ask for their views on a licence fee review and they generally all say the same: “Change the fees so they are based on the number of vehicles”. They also all say, regardless of size, that they will happily pay more for a better service. I agree and hope readers will as well.

Counting the cost

Let’s put it into context. To register as a chiropractor costs £750 for the initial fee with an annual retention fee of £800 and to register as a taxi driver and get a licence for one vehicle for three years costs £254 with a three-yearly renewal fee of £254. Contrast this with the fee to apply for a goods operator licence of £257 and an issue fee of £401. It costs £658 to obtain a licence to operate, whether you are running one vehicle or 1,000. And that’s the issue. The work done by the staff in the Central Licensing Office will be far more for the 1,000-vehicle operator than it will be for the one-vehicle operator. In effect, the one-vehicle operator is subsidising the 1,000-vehicle operator. Is that right or fair? I suggest not.

As the fees pay for the service operators receive, it’s no surprise the staff who provide these services are disappearing under a sea of emails, new licence applications, variation applications, change of transport manager applications, and any other number of applications that the commercial vehicle sector needs dealing with as quickly as possible. To rub salt into the wound, many applications don’t even attract a fee, so effectively the work is done by the staff for free. Is this unsustainable and unacceptable? Discuss!

Contrast this with the Environment Agency, which has a discretionary service that provides formal definition of waste opinions, where customers pay an initial fee of £750 when they submit a request for a definition of waste opinion. This is equivalent to six hours work at £125 per hour. I am not suggesting the OTC adopts this – that is for others to discuss and decide, but I am saying it’s time for a proper review and a consultation with those who pay for the service.

So come on DfT – help the transport sector to get the first class service it deserves. After all, the sector gives GB plc a first-class service, so shouldn’t it receive one as well?

Next time I look forward to writing about whether in the third decade of the 21st century having eight operator licences for one GB operation is necessary – but that is another whole can of worms!

■ Beverley Bell CBE, director, Beverley Bell Consulting