We are licensed private hire drivers and independent vehicle operators, based and working in Scotland, and are convening in a voluntary association to act as representatives of our trade, to serve as stakeholders of our trade, and to campaign for and to work for improvements to our trade. We affirm that we are self employed sole traders and that we are assembling together in solidarity with one another; convinced that such association assures a strong collective voice to represent our individual and shared concerns within the private hire trade.

The Scottish Private Hire Association (SPHA) are stakeholders to the private hire trade and we represent the individual and shared concerns of licensed drivers and independent vehicle operators. The work we do aims to ensure a fair income for all and aims to ensure that working conditions within the private hire trade are being continuously improved. In doing this, we engage with governments, local authorities, licensing authorities, ALEOs and QUANGOs, the police, and other trade stakeholders.

We defend our members against threats to their livelihoods, including when a license is under threat, and we also defend against events and policies that may threaten to worsen working conditions or decrease the earning potential for the trade as a whole. We also defend against threats to the status of our members as self employed sole traders. We do this while working to foster and nurture solidarity, fellowship and co-operation within the trade with the belief that this can lead to the free exchange of useful information while building a collective spirit of professionalism within the trade and a shared sense that campaigning and working together will be of benefit to us all.

● The Scottish Private Hire Association (The SPHA) is an unincorporated association.
● The SPHA operates in a grassroots and bottom-up manner where the ultimate authority and decision making lies with the membership of the association as a whole. The membership, however, elects office bearers to oversee, administer, guide and steer the association as an organisation.
● The SPHA is organised into geographic branches with each branch corresponding to a local licensing authority. Branches are overseen, administered and guided by their own elected leaders, which are styled as the Branch Chair and Branch Deputy Chair (or Deputies).
● The elected Chairs and Deputy Chairs of all the branches form a National Strategy Committee.
● Whenever the membership size of a particular branch is too small to efficiently operate then the National Strategy Committee shall oversee, administer and guide that branch.

● Whenever a specific task, set of tasks, campaign or project is required to be dealt with, a project group may be created to deal with such tasks.
● Project groups are ad-hoc in nature and exist only for as long as their goals exist. In this fashion they can be viewed as short life working groups.
● Any member of the association can be part of a project group and the association welcomes external input on project groups. That is to say one does not need to be an SPHA member to take part in our projects and campaigns.
● Any member of the association may request the formation of a project group, and they are highly encouraged to do so if an issue is of interest to them.
● Project groups dealing with a local issue operate under the general direction of their local branch leaders. Project groups dealing with a national issue operate under the general direction of the National Strategy Committee and the General Secretary.

● Matters of national strategy are administered by the National StrategyCommittee (NSC).
● The NSC is chaired by the General Secretary and is composed of representatives from each of the local branches. Each local branch is represented on the NSC by a Branch Chair and at least one Deputy Chair.
● To help ensure fair representation on the NSC, proportional representation is utilised based on the membership sizes of the local branches and such weighting is achieved by the number of Deputy Chairs each local branch has representing them. The mathematics of such weighting is continuously reviewed and agreed upon by members of the NSC.
● The NSC is empowered to make decisions and set campaign direction for the association as a whole, in particular on any issue that affects more than one local authority or is seen as a national issue. However, in doing so, the NSC can never usurp the local needs and desires of any particular branch. That is to explicitly say that local branches of the association are permitted to have opposing aims, directions and strategies on a local level based on the local issues affecting those local branches.
● The NSC is empowered to make strategic campaign and policy decisions on behalf of the association’s members, however such decisions must be backed by the belief that the majority of the membership would support the decision. If this is ever in doubt then a membership ballot should be conducted to resolve the matter.
● The NSC is also empowered to set and modify membership subscription levels and is tasked with being the arbiter in disputes between local branches and between members of the association.
● At meetings of the NSC, The General Secretary is not empowered to cast a vote unless such a vote is to break a stalemate or tie.

● All branches of the association are encouraged to hold regular meetings in their local area. Failure to hold meetings may be viewed as non-feasance on the part of the local branch leadership.
● All branch meetings of the SPHA are open to members and non-members alike.
● The purpose of branch meetings is to communicate updates to the members and for members and visitors to communicate their opinions to the association.
● A recommended structure for branch meetings is provided below:

○ Chair opens the meeting and makes any important SPHA announcements.
○ Any general announcements being communicated from the NSC to the branch.
○ Reports from any active project groups.
○ General agenda points on anything not yet announced or reported.
○ Open discussion for members to raise their own issues that were not included on the agenda (usually known as ‘any other business (AOB)’.

● Decisions on local branch matters are made by the members attending a branch meeting. No quorum is required. Motions pass by simple majority. The branch Chair is empowered to veto any decision made at a branch level, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by membership ballot.
● The National Strategy Committee is required to meet at least once every two months. A simple majority quorum is required to carry decisions. Decisions are then carried by a simple majority. The General Secretary is empowered to veto any decision made by the NSC, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a membership ballot.
● The General Secretary’s decision and ruling at all association meetings is final, however, local branch meetings are conducted by the local branch leadership and the General Secretary’s presence at such meetings is ultimately to provide guidance and support. Whenever the branch is making decisions that act contrary to the overall aims and directions of the association or conflict with national strategy then the General Secretary is empowered to veto such decisions, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a membership ballot.
● Any major disagreement or point of contention should always be sought to be resolved by a membership ballot.
● Membership ballots require 50% membership turnout to be valid and further require two-thirds majority to pass.

● Annually, around the first quarter of the year, the SPHA holds its annual conference and AGM. This is an annual gathering of all the branches.
● At this gathering, the General Secretary shall give a review of the previous year and set out the programme of action for the next coming year.
● Reports from any campaign and project leaders are also given, and incoming and outgoing branch leaders may also make addresses to the membership.
● The results of any elections are also announced and the formation of a new National Strategy Committee is formed.
● Amendments to the constitution and rules of the association can also take place.
● The annual conference and AGM is organised by the National Strategy Committee.

● The SPHA is led by the General Secretary, who is elected by all association members and serves a term of roughly two years.
● The duties of the General Secretary are to act as a figurehead and spokesperson for the association as a whole, to call and chair meetings of the National Strategy Committee, to oversee and administer the executive and business functions of the association, and any other duty explicitly mentioned elsewhere in the association’s constitution and rules..
● In carrying out their duties, the General Secretary cannot ever act contrary to the democratic will of the association’s membership or against any passed resolution or ballot.
● The General Secretary’s decision and ruling at all association meetings is final, however, local branch meetings are conducted by the local branch leadership and the General Secretary’s presence at such meetings is ultimately to provide guidance and support. Whenever the branch is making decisions that act contrary to the overall aims and directions of the association or conflict with national strategy then the General Secretary is empowered to veto such decisions, however such a veto shall be viewed as a continuance and the issue must then be resolved by a membership ballot.

Executive Functions of the Association
The executive functions of the SPHA are administered by the General Secretary in a manner akin to a managing director. The executive functions empowered to the General Secretary under this provision are to carry out the day-to-day running of the association’s business and to enact any relevant resolutions passed by the association’s members. A non-exhaustive list of examples of the executive functions that are administered by the General Secretary are to ensure legislative and regulatory compliance, to ensure continuity of service of the association’s internet assets, to ensure the association is adequately and appropriately indemnified and insured, to negotiate terms of service and contractual clauses with any service provider that the association does business with, and any other general business administration tasks. The General Secretary is empowered to delegate any of these functions to other association members as desired.

The Deputy General Secretary
There also exists a Deputy General Secretary. In ordinary times, the Deputy General Secretary acts as an aide and an advisor to the General Secretary. Whenever the General Secretary is incapacitated or on leave, or whenever the office of General Secretary is vacant, then the Deputy General Secretary assumes the duties and office of the General Secretary. The Deputy General Secretary is elected by all association members and serves a term of roughly two years. Such elections are held concurrently with those for the General Secretary.

● In ordinary circumstances, all office bearers are elected by ballot in a period preceding the annual conference and AGM with the results of those elections being announced at the AGM.
● Candidates may announce their intention to seek election at any time, however an official nomination window shall be held by the National Strategy Committee which begins 60 days prior to the AGM and ends 30 days prior to the AGM.
● Any regular member of the association in good standing may seek nomination or election to an office bearer post (or re-election as the case may be). Members may be nominated by other members or may self-nominate.
● Upon closing of the nomination window, ballots shall be distributed to the association members. If any position is uncontested a ballot is not held. Balloted elections run in the time period following the nomination period and end as close to the annual conference and AGM as is practicably possible.
● The results of any elections are announced and the formation of a new National Strategy Committee is formed at the annual conference and AGM.
● Branch Chairs and Deputies are elected annually and their terms run from one AGM to the next. The General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary hold terms of roughly two years and are elected at every second AGM.
● Whenever an office bearer post is vacant, the post is immediately filled by the appropriate deputy on an interim basis for the remainder of that term. Whenever a post cannot be filled in this fashion an emergency ballot is held to fill the post on an interim basis.

● Membership of the Scottish Private Hire Association is open to any licensed private hire driver and any independent private hire car operator, based and working in Scotland, who agrees with the aims and directions of the association.
● Licenced drivers and operators of taxis/hackney carriages are permitted to hold membership, but in such cases must affirm that the majority of their work is private hire (ie. radio circuit or pre-booked hires).
● Members of the association agree to support each other in solidarity and agree to work together to help achieve the aims and goals of the association.
● Membership of the association may be revoked or suspended if it has been found that a member has:

○ Been actively working against the aims and direction of the association,
○ Been consistently disruptive to the principles of fellowship and co-operation,
○ Breached any rules of the association,
○ Misled the association to gain any benefits of membership that they were not otherwise entitled to,
○ Engaged in behaviour that may bring the association into disrepute,
○ Fallen into arrears with their membership subscription.

This rule shall be enforced in conjunction with the association’s complaints and disciplinary procedure.

Types of Membership

● There are currently two types of membership: Regular Membership and Affiliate Membership.

● Affiliate Membership is free of charge and is open to any private hire licence holder as well as anyone who supports the aims and objectives of the SPHA. This could be family members or retired drivers. Affiliate members can attend meetings, take part in campaigns and project groups, take part in our surveys and consultations, and receive news updates. However, affiliate members cannot hold office bearer roles within the SPHA, cannot take part in ballots, nor are they entitled to casework, licensing or legal support.

● Regular Membership is open to any currently licenced driver or independent vehicle operator based and working in Scotland who agrees with the aims and objectives of the SPHA. They are entitled to the same benefits as affiliate members, but they are also entitled to stand for election and hold office bearer roles, can take part in ballots, and are entitled to casework, licensing and legal support.

● Regular Membership is currently set at £7 per month or £80 per year.

● Regular members are entitled to casework support, licensing protection and legal cover.
● In most cases this will be handled by an SPHA trade rep, but in serious cases where professional legal support is required, the National Strategy Committee will deliberate and decide if a solicitor should be used. In coming to this decision, the NSC will consult with a solicitor and take into account the cost of the case from an affordability viewpoint and the chance of success as provided by the solicitor. In general, cases with less than a 50% chance of success will not be eligible for legal cover. Legal cover where an external solicitor is required can only cover licensing cases and appeals. It does not cover members for general criminal cases, civil cases, or road traffic offences.
● When new members are joining the association with a pre-existing issue then they must join the association as a full member for a full year. In such situations they will not be eligible for legal cover from an external solicitor and will only be eligible for trade representation.

THE COMPLAINTS OFFICER
There shall exist at all times a Complaints Officer whose role is to receive and handle complaints from association members. The complaints officer is an internally appointed post and they are appointed and dismissed by the General Secretary based on the advice of the National Strategy Committee. The Complaints Officer does not sit on the National Strategy Committee.

COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
When a complaint has been made against any association member, the following procedure shall be followed:

The Complaints Officer shall receive or be forwarded the complaint and upon receipt they shall notify the subject of the complaint that such a complaint has been received. They shall also communicate this procedure to the subject.
The Complaints Officer shall then, at random, select a Branch Officer (Chair or Deputy Chair) from a different Branch than the one the subject of the complaint belongs to. Together the Complaints Officer and the selected Branch Officer shall investigate the complaint in full.
In the first instance, they shall make an immediate determination, based on the severity of the complaint, on whether the subject of the complaint should be suspended from post or not during the investigation and whether the subject of the complaint should have their association membership suspended or not during the investigation.
They shall then investigate the complaint in as rigorous a manner as possible and, at each stage of their investigation, their findings and any evidence collected must be noted down in an investigatory record.
Upon conclusion of their investigation, they shall report the complaint and the findings of their investigation to the National Strategy Committee.
The National Strategy Committee shall deliberate and decide if any disciplinary action is required or not.
The Complaints Officer shall then notify the subject(s) of the decisions made and shall effect those decisions.

APPEALS PROCEDURE
If the subject of a complaint wishes to appeal any disciplinary action taken against them as a result of the above procedure, then they may lodge an appeal with the General Secretary who shall then convene a disciplinary appeal hearing. The General Secretary shall conduct a lottery of association members to select four persons. These four persons and the General Secretary shall form a judicial panel of five. The judicial panel shall then hold a hearing where they shall hear statements from all involved in the previous matters. Upon conclusion of the panel’s hearing of evidence, they shall deliberate and make a verdict of the appeal. The verdict of this panel shall be considered final and their decision shall stand. Such a decision shall be considered as having exhausted all investigatory, disciplinary and appellate processes.

ADDITIONAL CLAUSES TO THE COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINARY RULES
● Whenever the subject of a complaint is the Complaints Officer themselves, all duties of the Complaints Officer as pertaining to the above procedures shall be transferred to a randomly selected Branch Officer from a different Branch than the one the Complaints Officer belongs to.
● Whenever the subject of a complaint is the General Secretary, all duties of the General Secretary as pertaining to the above procedures shall be transferred to the Deputy General Secretary.
● Any instances of procedural logjam shall be resolved by the National Strategy Committee.
● At all times, the subject of a complaint must be recused from any discussions relating to the complaint.
● The complaints and disciplinary procedure may also be used as a method of holding a confidence vote of any office bearer.

● Matters and issues of regulatory compliance are handled by the General Secretary as part of the executive functions of that office. This includes compliance with taxation and financial affairs.
● Branch Chairs are empowered to make purchases on behalf of their branches up to the value of £80 for any single purchase without prior approval, however such purchases and spends must be shown to be wholly of benefit to the association’s membership. Further, a spending limit of £80 per month applies. When such purchases are made, the branch Chair may seek reimbursement from the association’s executive by production of receipt. If spending limits are reached then approval from the National Strategy Committee must be sought for further purchases and spends.
● The General Secretary is empowered to make purchases on behalf of the association up to the value of £160 for any single purchase without prior approval, however such purchases and spends must be shown to be wholly of benefit to the association’s membership or shown to be required for the continued operation of the association. Further a spending limit of £160 per month applies. If spending limits are reached then approval from the National Strategy Committee must be sought for further purchases and spends.
● Regular members of the association are entitled to fair reimbursement of outlays associated with association business. This includes a travel allowance of 45p per mile or a reimbursement of public transport costs, however this is not permitted for attending regular branch meetings or industrial action events unless authorised by the National Strategy
Committee. In all circumstances, members should seek reimbursement from their local branch Chair who shall request disbursement from the executive.
● The association is barred from making political donations or donations to political funds.

● This document is to be considered a “living and breathing” document, and as such may be amended to fit the needs of the association as time goes on. The exact procedure of this as follows:
● At any time, the National Strategy Committee, may by majority decision, amend this constitution and rulebook. Additionally, any member of the association may petition the National Strategy Committee to make such amendments.
● Amendments take effect immediately, however, following amendment to this document, notice must be transmitted to the membership that such an amendment has taken place. Following such notification, if the General Secretary receives a petition from at least 25% of the association’s membership contesting the amendment, then a ballot of the association’s membership must be held to seek resolution and ratification.
● Any resolutions passed by the National Strategy Committee must never conflict with the provisions of this constitution and a record of all such resolutions must be recorded in the annexes of this document.
● Any resolutions passed by local branches must never conflict with the provisions of this constitution and a record of all such resolutions must be recorded in the annexes of this document.

ANNEX 1: Record of Resolutions of the National Strategy Committee

8 April 2022 – Review of proportional representation of the National Strategy Committee.
8 April 2022 – Purchase of public liability insurance and professional indemnity.

ANNEX 2: Record of Resolutions of the Local Branches

● NONE YET