Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 January (HL4755), whether the range of tools available to Transport for London to deal with congestion and vehicle pollution includes the power to limit the number of private hire vehicles which it licenses; and if not, why not.

As indicated in the answer of 31 January, the Government’s view is that although Transport for London (TfL) do not have the power to limit the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs), other mechanisms are available to address concerns regarding the operation of the taxi and private hire sector. Therefore there are no current plans to amend primary legislation in order to permit any licensing authority, including TfL, to cap the number of PHVs licensed.