Inverclyde Council to review an eased approach towards overseas criminal record checks for taxi drivers
- Perry Richardson
- Aug 2
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 3
Inverclyde Council has agreed to review how it assesses criminal history for taxi and private hire driver licence applicants who were born or have lived outside the UK.
The proposed change follows increasing challenges in enforcing current rules, which require foreign nationals or those who have lived abroad for more than six months to produce a criminal record check from each country of residence. The existing process treats applications as incomplete if such documentation is missing, leading to rejection of the licence application.
However, a growing number of applicants from countries experiencing conflict, such as Syria and Afghanistan, have been unable to provide these records. This has led to complaints that the policy is unfair and overly rigid, especially for those who have long resided in the UK.
To address this, the Council’s General Purposes Board has now sought a revised approach. If approved, applicants who have lived in the UK for at least five consecutive years immediately before applying will no longer be required to provide a criminal record check from their country of origin. Applications from individuals who fall short of this five-year threshold will still need to provide the relevant checks or risk having their applications rejected as incomplete.
The policy aims to balance public safety with fairness in the application process. Police Scotland will continue to conduct standard criminal background checks on all applicants for any period they have lived in the UK.
Other Scottish councils have taken varied approaches. Some, such as Glasgow and East Renfrewshire, apply similar five-year residence thresholds, while others, including Falkirk and Perth & Kinross, require checks if an applicant has lived outside the UK in the past ten years.
Inverclyde Council hopes the change will make the process more practical for applicants, while maintaining the necessary safeguards in line with public interest and legal responsibilities.
