Ministers and officials regularly engage with the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Differing licensing requirements, processing times and costs are often cited as reasons why licences are sought from authorities other than that in which the applicants intend to work.

Though there is a high degree of consistency in requirements relating to safety, for example all licensing authorities in England require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service and barred lists check for drivers, the Government is taking action to ensure even greater consistency in licensing.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing out-of-area working.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing drivers to licence with an authority other than that in which they intend to work.

The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

The Department does not hold data on the average age of buses or coaches.

However, the Department publishes data on the proportion of local buses by year of manufacture in the Annual Bus Statistics. Figures for the latest year are available in Table BUS06f, and data for previous years can be found in earlier publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#vehicles-operated-by-local-bus-operators-bus06. Prior to 2022 average age of the bus fleet was collected instead of year of manufacture.

The Department also publishes data on the average age of taxis and private hire vehicles in the Taxi and Private Hire Statistics. Figures for the latest year are available in Table TAXI0116, and data for previous years can be found in earlier publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/taxi01-taxis-private-hire-vehilces-and-their-drivers. The Department does not hold these data for years prior to 2020.

The Department does not hold data on the average age of Hackney carriages.

All licensing authorities in England have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to be a licensee and that they remain so throughout the duration of the licence. As part of this assessment all licensing authorities have reported that they undertake an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check and check both the children’s and adults’ barred lists.

Licensing authorities make decisions based on “the balance of probability”, so when determining whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a licence, a driver should not be given the benefit of the doubt. If a licensing authority is only fifty percent certain as to whether a licensee is fit and proper, they should not hold a licence. The threshold used here is lower than for a criminal conviction (that being beyond reasonable doubt). This means that driver licences may be revoked even if any safety concerns do not result in a criminal conviction.

The primary purpose of the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime is public safety. Since coming into Government, we have been actively looking at ways to improve the existing licensing regime.

We have committed to legislate to address the issues raised in Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We want to achieve two outcomes; the first is ensuring we have consistently high safeguarding standards and the second is that there is no unintended reduction in the availability of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle services, which could disproportionately impact women and girls and disabled people, who rely on these services the most. We are considering all options – including out-of-area working, national standards, enforcement and transferring licensing to local transport authorities - seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance issued by the Department on actions they should take on licensing matters including safety. All licensing authorities have reported that they require the highest level of criminal background checks for taxi and private hire vehicle driver licence applicants – an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists. Where safety recommendations from the guidance are not being followed, licensing authorities will be held to account.

The Government set out the measures it expects licensing authorities to take to safeguard passengers through the publication of the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards in 2020. Public safety remains the priority of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, and the Government is clear that where standards need to be high and rigorously applied, they must be.

The Government has published updated Best Practice Guidance to assist licensing authorities in England. The updated guidance challenges licensing authorities to consider the necessity of some requirements that they place on the trade. This approach will provide a framework for fair competition and enable the trade to deliver the range of safe, available, affordable and accessible services required to meet the range of differing passenger needs.

The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which 263 licensing authorities in England license the taxi and PHV trades. The Government issues guidance to assist authorities in carrying this out.

The Government has set out the measures it expects licensing authorities to take to safeguard passengers through the publication of the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards in 2020. The Government has just published updated Best Practice Guidance for licensing authorities in England which encourages proportionate regulation to enable the sector to deliver safe, accessible, and affordable services that meet the differing needs of passengers. The Department for Transport engages regularly with taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities on a range of issues regarding the regulation of the sector.

The Government remains committed to introducing legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to enable the setting of national standards in licensing, enhancing licensing authorities’ compliance and enforcement powers and to establish a national licensing database of all licensees.