Wolverhampton has to 'carry the weight of a national free-for-all': Councillor demands big changes to taxi laws
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Wolverhampton Council's taxi licensing department is carrying the weight of failings across the rest of the country, say Tory councillors in the city.
Councillor Simon Bennett, leader of Wolverhampton's Conservative opposition group, said the city was paying the price for a 'national free for all' when it came to issuing taxi licences.
In July the parliamentary transport committee announced an investigation into how standards for taxis and private hire vehicles could be improved, amid concern about inadequate regulation that varies from one area of the country to another.
Councillor Bennett said 96 per cent of taxi licences issued in Wolverhampton were for drivers who were outside of the area.
This was because the system was much more efficient in Wolverhampton than elsewhere, he said, but added that it made it near-impossible to enforce the conditions on licenses elsewhere in the country.
Councillor Bennett said Wolverhampton was one of the first authorities in the country to introduce a fully digital licensing system, introduce daily DBS checks and cut unnecessary red tape.
"That innovation showed how modern, transparent regulation could work – but the national framework it operates within is now unsustainable.
"Ninety-six per cent of Wolverhampton licences go to drivers who live elsewhere, and the law gives councils little power to refuse or enforce standards beyond their borders.”
Councillor Bennett said this was no criticism of the council, but about fixing a national system that no longer made sense.
"Wolverhampton’s success in streamlining licensing has inadvertently exposed weaknesses in cross-border enforcement, allowing vehicles licensed in one area to operate almost anywhere with minimal oversight," he said.
Councillor Bennett said Baroness Casey’s review into group-based child sexual exploitation highlighted serious safeguarding failures, including inconsistent data collection on suspects and patchy oversight of drivers in some areas.
"She called for tougher, consistent standards for taxi and private-hire licensing to protect vulnerable passengers, recommendations that mirror concerns long raised by Wolverhampton Conservatives," he said.
“Where the council has innovated, it has shown what can be achieved, but no single authority can carry the weight of a licensing system that has become a national free-for-all.
"The transport committee must deliver clear safety standards, proper enforcement powers and a framework that protects passengers and responsible drivers alike.”
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