Lord Hendy outlines Government plans to House of Lords to tighten taxi licensing after national child abuse audit
- Perry Richardson
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 18
The Government is set to introduce new legislation to address concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published on 16 June. One key focus is the tightening of taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing arrangements.
Responding in the House of Lords, Transport Minister Lord Hendy confirmed that inconsistent licensing standards across England are under review. The Department for Transport (DfT) aims to improve passenger safety by examining national enforcement approaches and the issue of cross-border working.
While legislation is in the pipeline, the DfT plans to act sooner. This includes consulting on whether local transport authorities should take over responsibility for taxi and PHV licensing. The department will also look at how to reinforce current statutory guidance and hold licensing authorities to account if they fail to meet expected standards.
Lord Hendy said some protective measures are already in place following past abuse inquiries. All licensing authorities in England must now conduct comprehensive background checks on drivers. Since 2023, they have also been required to use a national database to prevent drivers banned in one area from being licensed in another.
The Government said any reform must not unintentionally reduce access to safe, vetted taxi and PHV services. Officials are wary of creating gaps that could lead passengers to turn to illegal operators who sidestep checks.
Lord Hendy said: “The Department for Transport will legislate to address the important issues raised in the report, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options – including out of area working, national standards and enforcement – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.
“In the interim we will act urgently to make improvements, including consulting on making local transport authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, and determining how existing statutory guidance can be strengthened to further protect the public. We are also reviewing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance and will hold those who do not follow it to account.
“Some important protections have already been put in place since earlier inquiries into Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. All licensing authorities in England now undertake extensive driver background checks, and since 2023 they are required to use a single database to prevent a driver refused a licence in one area on safety grounds going elsewhere.
“Careful consideration of the options is needed as we do not want any change to decrease the availability of highly vetted licensed drivers and vehicles and inadvertently increase the use of those offering illegal services that evade these licensing checks.”
