‘STAGGERING INCOMPETENCE’: TfL taxi and PHV licensing delays spark political row as Conservative MP slams £7.6m goodwill payments
- Perry Richardson
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
Conservative MP Richard Holden has criticised Transport for London (TfL) after the authority confirmed it has paid out around £7.6 million through its licensing delay goodwill scheme, saying the situation reflects a failure of leadership affecting both drivers and taxpayers.
Holden said: “Staggering incompetence has left Londoners paying a £7.6 million compensation bill after TfL’s licensing fiasco hit nearly 18,000 taxi and private hire drivers.
“Labour is failing drivers, failing taxpayers and failing London. Londoners deserve better.”
The comments come after months of scrutiny surrounding delays within TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire licensing department, which left thousands of drivers waiting significantly longer than expected for licence renewals.
For many licensed taxi and private hire drivers, licence renewals are essential to continue working legally. The huge delays created uncertainty for drivers and in some cases, affected their ability to continue earning.
The introduction of TfL’s goodwill payment scheme, which was designed to recognise the inconvenience experienced by drivers whose renewal applications exceeded TfL’s published service standards. The payments were not seen as compensation for financial losses but discretionary goodwill payments based on the length of the delay.
Under the scheme, eligible drivers whose renewal applications took longer than the published processing times could receive payments on a sliding scale. The scheme applied to both taxi and private hire licence renewals where the delays were attributable to TfL rather than missing documentation or other issues outside the licensing authority’s control.
Since the scheme was introduced, TfL has made several adjustments as the backlog has reduced.
TaxiPoint has previously reported extensively on TfL’s licensing delays and the introduction of the goodwill payment scheme, which was created to recognise drivers affected by lengthy licence renewal processing times. The payments were discretionary and based on the length of the delay experienced by eligible applicants. Drivers whose applications fell within the eligibility period retained the ability to have their claims considered under the published arrangements, but the scheme is no longer being extended indefinitely.
The Evening Standard recently revealed the total cost of approximately £7.6 million and the figure of almost 18,000 drivers receiving payments have now become a focal point of political debate. Critics argue the payments represent a significant cost to the public purse that could have been avoided had licensing services operated within expected timescales.
Others point out that the goodwill scheme acknowledged genuine disruption experienced by professional drivers who rely on prompt licensing decisions to maintain their livelihoods. There are some driver groups that also believe the goodwill payments did not go far enough to compensate drivers.
