The Department for Transport has today launched a consultation on new rules to better protect vulnerable passengers. Although there is some guidance on this, there are no legally enforceable rules.
Last year it emerged that taxi licences were being issued behind closed doors to drivers convicted of offences including child sex crimes and reckless driving.
If statutory guidance is brought forward, taxi and private hire drivers could have to pass enhanced criminal record checks.
The legislation will also ensure that drivers are under the same level of scrutiny when operating away from their licensing area. It is also considering stopping drivers from operating hundreds of miles away from where they are licensed and whether cabs and private hire vehicles should be fitted with CCTV.
The consultation on this guidance will run until 22 April 2019.
Lucy Allan said:
“I am so pleased that the Government is taking action to better protect vulnerable passengers.
“These new measures will make such a difference in Telford where we know that many young girls have fallen victim of child sexual exploitation where the perpetrators were operating in the form of taxi rings.
"These rules would make sure that drivers are fit to carry passengers no matter where the driver is licensed, keeping people safe while stopping those with bad intentions from getting behind the wheel of a taxi or minicab."