Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to put in place additional measures to empower local licensing authorities to ensure public safety in taxi and private hire vehicles.

I announced in a Westminster Hall debate that I would be setting up a working group to consider current issues concerning taxi and PHV licensing. That group is considering both cross-border working and enforcement and passenger safety as two of key areas for discussion and will report its findings to me in the new year.

The Department for Transport does not currently hold any data on the number of taxi or private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers who have had their licences revoked. The Department has not made any estimate of the number of taxis and PHV drivers working cross-border who have had their licences revoked by a local licensing authority.

The Government attaches the utmost priority to passenger safety in the licenced taxi and PHV trade. The Department for Transport will consult on revised best practice guidance and for the first time statutory guidance enabled under the Policing and Crime Act 2017. This guidance will contain robust standards that we expect all licensing authorities to adopt; these will ensure all passengers, particularly children and vulnerable adults, are protected when using taxi and PHV services.