Written question asked by Brian Jenkins (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 November 2006. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Thursday, 7 December 2006 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Minicabs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce the number of unlicensed minicab drivers.

Answer: Individuals who attempt to provide a taxi or minicab service without being properly licensed normally do so by plying for hire (waiting to be approached by passengers) or by touting for business (approaching passengers and asking if they want a cab). Both of these are criminal offences. Responsibility for enforcement falls to local taxi licensing authorities and the police.There are some minicab drivers who are unlicensed—lawfully so at present—because they provide a service under a contract lasting not less than seven days (““the contract exemption””). Section 53 of the Road Safety Act 2006 repeals the contract exemption. Those unlicensed drivers who currently rely on the contract exemption will in future have to be licensed in order to continue operating lawfully. We are currently asking stakeholders for their views on how long they need to make necessary arrangements before this provision is brought into force.

Secondary information