Nursery World - Council plans may force settings to get vehicle licences

Nurseries in Barrow-in-Furness are fighting against costly council
plans to make them take out private hire licences for the vehicles they
use for pick-ups and drop-offs. The plans would cost them thousands of
pounds a year if they go ahead, with settings facing fines or legal
action if they do not comply.

Practitioners would also be required to become licensed taxi drivers.

Last June, Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council in Cumbria wrote to all private nurseries in the area to notify them of the rules concerning company vehicles with eight or fewer seats, which nurseries use to take children out on trips and for pick-ups and drop-offs.

According to the council's interpretation of Department for Transport (DfT) guidance, private nurseries that use vehicles with up to eight passenger seats to transport children must obtain private hire licences, as they are providing a 'minicab service' that they are gaining from financially.

This is despite the two affected nurseries, Happy Tots Day Nursery and Cheeky Monkeys Childcare, not charging an additional fee to parents for children to be transported in their vehicles.

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