MORE RULES, FEWER RIGHTS: GMB warns national taxi standards risk adding obligations without strengthening driver rights
- Perry Richardson
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The GMB Union has warned that the Government’s proposed introduction of national standards for taxi and private hire licensing risks placing greater responsibilities on drivers without providing equivalent rights or protections.
In a statement issued after attending a Department for Transport (DfT) roundtable on the forthcoming Taxi and Private Hire Bill, the union said it raised concerns that the current direction of travel could leave drivers facing additional regulatory burdens while longstanding issues affecting their working lives remain unresolved.
National standards are expected to become one of the cornerstone reforms within the proposed legislation. The Government has previously indicated that greater consistency between licensing authorities could improve public safety, reduce variation in licensing requirements and create a more uniform regulatory framework across England.
However, GMB believes the proposals currently being discussed place too much emphasis on what drivers must do, rather than what they should receive in return.
The union said: “We raised our concerns that significant gaps exist in the proposals for National Standards, which increase driver obligations but are light on any driver rights or protections.”
That position reflects a wider debate that has developed across the industry over the past several years. While many drivers support efforts to remove inconsistencies between licensing authorities, there has also been concern that national standards could become just another layer of regulation unless they are accompanied by meaningful reforms that improve drivers’ working conditions and legal protections.
GMB did not oppose the principle of national standards during the roundtable. Instead, its intervention focused on ensuring that any new national framework provides a better balance between regulatory expectations and the rights of the people expected to meet them.
Although the union’s full package of proposals was not discussed in detail during the update, it referenced its previously published position on national standards, first outlined in May 2025, which argues that industry-wide reforms should include protections alongside higher standards.
The comments suggest GMB wants the Government to move beyond a compliance-based model of regulation. The issue is likely to become increasingly significant as ministers continue developing the Taxi and Private Hire Bill. National standards have been broadly welcomed by many parts of the sector as a way of reducing differences between licensing authorities, but there remains considerable debate over what those standards should contain and whether they should extend beyond licensing conditions.
The outcome could influence everything from training requirements and licence conditions to enforcement procedures and compliance costs. For licensing authorities, a nationally consistent framework could reduce local variation, although questions remain over how much discretion councils would retain under the new system.
GMB concluded that it will continue pressing its case as discussions on the legislation continue.
The union said: “We will continue to pursue our National Standards proposals as part of building rights and protections for drivers, and to try to ensure that any industry-wide changes are implemented in a way that integrates them as best as possible, and takes into account future challenges too.”
