Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Thursday 8th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to ensure consistent standards of taxi licensing across local authorities.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to ensure consistent standards of taxi licensing across local authorities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Guy Opperman)]

The Department for Transport issues guidance to licensing authorities in England to help them regulate the sector, including the statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards and the best practice guidance, updated in November 2023. Last year the Government enacted legislation requiring licensing authorities in England to use a national database to share information, in order to prevent drivers who have lost their licence from applying to other authorities that would not know about their previous wrongdoing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, we have already brought in changes to the rules that mean that individual authorities can take action against an individual operating in another authority, which is something I think he should welcome.

[Daniel Zeichner]

As we have heard from colleagues, the cross-border issue remains a real problem right across the country. We have the additional problem of the potentially changed relationship between operators and drivers, which is highlighted by the press campaigns about the possible imposition of VAT on private hire journeys. Does all this not show that the Department should have modernised taxi and private hire legislation ages ago, rather than waiting for companies such as Uber to drive a coach and horses through regulations that were, frankly, written in the time of coaches and horses?

[Guy Opperman]

I would not refer to regulations written in 2020 and updated in 2023 as written in the time of coaches and horses—perhaps the hon. Gentleman should check his history. On the Uber case that he rightly identifies, that is clearly a court case that the Government have to address and will therefore consult on thereafter.