Local authorities to review taxi licensing guidelines after BBC expose

A number of local authorities in the West Midlands have said they will review their guidelines for licensing taxi drivers after an investigation by BBC programme Inside Out West Midlands revealed that some 209 people with criminal convictions have received a licence.

The licensees include criminals with convictions for indecent assault and drug dealing, said the BBC, which put in Freedom of Information requests to councils and police authorities across the region.

The programme cited the case of a licence-holder in Wolverhampton who had carried out more than 30 offences between 1985 and 2005. However, Wolverhampton City Council insisted that it took the licensing of private hire and hackney carriages seriously. The individual concerned had attracted no complaints since receiving their licence in 2006, it added.

The BBC pointed out that “there are no official rules about licensing taxi drivers. Instead, councils tend to follow various guidelines, one of which is issued by the Department of Transport”. Other guidelines are issued by the Metropolitan Police and the Lord Chief Justice, it said.

A National Taxi Association spokesman told the programme that people with previous convictions had their applications decided on merit. “If someone does have a lot of previous convictions he is likely to have to go before a council and explain himself,” he said.