Taxi drivers in Wigan face SUSPENSION if they do not sign up to DBS checking service

Taxi drivers in Wigan are facing SUSPENSION if they do not sign up to a new online DBS checking service by December.

The Regulation Committee approved the suspension of any existing private hire / hackney carriage driver who does not subscribe to the DBS Update Service by 1 December 2021.

Other licensing authorities have been less strict by making the requirement a condition of licensing on the date of their renewal instead. In London for example, taxi licences last for 3 year periods before needing to be renewed again.

Taxi drivers in Wigan must now join the DBS Update Service which costs £13 annually by 1 December or risk losing their licence.

Taxi and private hire drivers across England who sign up to the DBS Update Service will join a database of drivers who will be checked for criminal convictions and barring information on a weekly basis.

The service also aims to reduce the need for new DBS certificates, which could speed up renewal licence processes in some regions.

The new licensing condition forms part of the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards published during the summer of 2020 by the Department for Transport (DfT).