Transport secretary vows to tighten taxi licensing

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander addressed concerns about local taxi licensing in the Commons on Thursday

Ministers have vowed to pass laws to tackle inconsistent taxi and private hire standards amid fears some vehicles "are a dangerous place for many children and young people".

Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury Antonia Bance spoke in the Commons on Thursday to ask what the government was doing about local taxi licensing standards.

Bance referred to Wolverhampton, where applications are believed to be quicker and cheaper than those made elsewhere.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the matter was being taken "very seriously", promising to hold local authorities not following compliance to account.

In January, the prime minister tasked Baroness Casey with conducting a rapid review into grooming gangs and child sexual abuse.

The findings, published on 17 June, identified "many cases of group-based child sexual exploitation" as having links with taxis.

Bance said: "Last week, the Casey review showed us yet again that private hire vehicles are a dangerous place for many children and young people."

"What action is the minister going to take to make sure that local taxi licensing is done locally to high standards?"

'Lack of stringency'

Alexander told MPs: "Baroness Casey has rightly brought this issue into sharp focus and we've committed to legislating this issue.

"We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options including out-of-area working, national standards and enforcement, seeking the best overall outcome for passenger safety."

Baroness Casey dedicated a chapter of her audit to taxi licensing.

It said taxis had historically been identified in a minority of cases as a way children became at risk of sexual exploitation.

"Both as a potential way for perpetrators to meet their victims, as well as a means of trafficking victims to different locations and introducing them to other perpetrators," the review found.

She later added: "A lack of stringency means that drivers who are unscrupulous can apply to a lax neighbouring borough" for a licence, and urged the government to "close these loopholes urgently".

'Illegal to refuse applicants'

Licensed taxi drivers are allowed to operate anywhere in England and Wales and are not tied to the district where they got their licence.

A report by Taxi Point highlighted 96% of Wolverhampton approved taxi and private hire licence holders lived outside the city between April 2023 and March 2024.

City of Wolverhampton Council told the BBC safeguarding was its "number one priority" in taxi licensing and that it was "the first to implement the government's statutory standards and best practice guidance".

A spokesman said. "It is illegal for the council to refuse applicants a taxi licence on the basis of where they live.

"It is also illegal for licensing authorities to impose a limit on the number of private hire licences they issue.

"The council does not gain financially from taxi licensing, as the fees are legally ring-fenced for spend only on related activities."