Public to have say on Rotherham’s taxi industry


Members of the public are being urged to have their say on how to improve the standard of Rotherham’s taxi industry.

Rotherham Council wants views from passengers and taxi drivers on proposed changes to its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy over the next eight weeks.

The council said the publication of the Jay Report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, which revealed 1,400 children had been abused over 16 years while the authorities turned a blind eye, had resulted in a ‘significant impact on the public’s confidence in the taxi industry’.

The report revealed that taxis were used to ferry young victims around the town and beyond, where they were abused.

Councillor Judy Dalton, of Rotherham Council’s Licensing Board, said: “Although Rotherham’s current policy is compliant with the law and our standards exceed those of some areas, we felt we had to restore public confidence in the local taxi trade so we propose to raise the standards in a variety of areas.

“We hope the industry and the public will respond to the consultation and share with us their views. We will take this into account and seek to have changes in place by April.”

source: http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/new ... -1-6932724