North Yorkshire Council chiefs say taxi drivers with criminal records and unsafe vehicles are able to avoid their rigorous checks by obtaining a licence from other authorities.
Councillors were told in a full council meeting today (WEDNESDAY) there had been an increase in drivers living and working in North Yorkshire, but obtaining their taxi licence elsewhere.
The City of Wolverhampton Council was named as an authority which issued thousands of licences to drivers who did not live in the city.
Councillors were told that other areas around the country, including Manchester and Blackpool, had raised concerns about the number of so-called “out-of-town” licences issued by the West Midlands council.
Councillor Mark Crane, executive member for open to business, said:
“Standards in some areas are lower than we have in North Yorkshire.
“In other words, if you’ve got convictions and you’re unlikely to get a license from us, you can go to a different authority and seek to get a license from them.
“I want people who get taxes in North Yorkshire, including my daughter, to be in a taxi that is A) driven by somebody who is a responsible member of society, and B) that the taxi is a roadworthy vehicle that is safe.”
Councillor Barbara Brodigan told the meeting at County Hall in Northallerton that the livelihoods of taxi drivers registered in North Yorkshire were being put at risk, with the costs of registering in the county being far higher than obtaining a licence elsewhere.
Councillor Simon Myers said:
“We have a responsibility to our public to ensure that you are safe when you use a taxi.
“That is our statutory responsibility and we can’t do that if people are licensed under different regimes.
“We impose additional costs on our own drugs to meet those standards, and they’re being undercut by people who run on a lesser standard.”
But Councillor Subash Sharma called on the council to produce evidence that the Wolverhampton authority was not adhering to the correct standards when licensing drivers.
He said:
“Do they allow paedophiles, criminals and ne’er-do-well people to become taxi drivers?
“The standards that we all have to adhere to are legally set as far as I’m aware.
“Nobody has told me how Wolverhampton is not adhering to those standards.”
North Yorkshire Council agreed a motion to urge the government to change the law to ensure that licences to operate and drive private hire vehicles and taxis are only granted to people who live or work in the county.
In response to the comments by councillors, a spokesperson for City of Wolverhampton Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“Safeguarding is our number one priority in taxi licensing and we adhere to the highest standards.
“We strongly refute that our standards are lower than those of North Yorkshire Council.
“We lead the way nationally on using technology to help with safeguarding, including being the only council to do daily DBS checks on all drivers and the first council to offer driver licence checks by smartphone.”
The authority recently gave evidence on the issue to the Transport Select Committee of the House of Commons telling MPs that the law needed urgent change.
The spokesperson added:
“Under the current law the council cannot refuse a licence unless the applicant is not fit and proper, even if they have no connection with Wolverhampton."
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