Oh, aye, Rotherham again and its Gold Standard regulation
But she makes a fair enough point here - it's unlikely that the combined authorities will adopt the highest standards and spec in the area, so some current council areas would see a drop in the standards and spec.
It's a bit like the standardisation of tariffs in council amalgamation scenarios - some likely to go up, while others go down
Rotherham MP warns of 'driving down standards' with taxi regulation
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/po ... on-8549505
In Rotherham, taxis were frequently used to ferry around grooming gang victims and now the council has some of the strictest rules for private hire vehicles.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has warned that expanding taxi regulation to combined authorities risks “driving down standards” in constituencies like her own, with its strict rules after the history of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
As part of the King’s Speech, the Government announced it will seek to bring forward draft Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Bill, which will introduce a national register of licensed drivers.
It is expected that this will move the licensing responsibility from local authorities to mayors, which currently have other transport powers.
However, Ms Champion warned that this must not mean “driving down standards”.
In Rotherham, taxis were frequently used to ferry around grooming gang victims. In 2024, Adam Ali, 45, was jailed for abusing girls in the back of his taxi in the early 2000s.
Since then, the council has introduced a “gold standard” licensing scheme, which includes the requirement for CCTV in cabs.
Ms Champion has raised issues with cross-border working for more than a decade, which allows drivers to shop around for lower standards, while still working in Rotherham.
In a letter to the Transport Secretary, she said: “A renewed focus on delivering robust national licensing standards for private hire and taxi drivers is essential if we are to prevent child sexual exploitation and it is welcome that the Government is exploring new approaches to doing so.
“However, I fail to see how transferring authority for its delivery to combined authorities will achieve this goal.
“I am deeply troubled that such an approach in fact risks driving down standards in authorities like Rotherham, which have adopted far tougher requirements than those of their neighbours.”
She said that the council has “intimate knowledge of risks in its own area, and first hand contact with licensed drivers”.
“Expanding overview and enforcement out of the borough will lose knowledge and build loopholes on oversight back into the system”.
Ms Champion’s comments come as Jess Phillips was replaced as Safeguarding Minister in the Home Office by Natalie Fleet, after Ms Phillips’ resignation.
Ms Fleet, herself a victim of child sexual abuse, will be leading the Government’s response to grooming gangs.
Mags Godderidge, the chief executive of Survive North Yorkshire, a support service for victims of child sexual abuse, said she hoped this would lead to greater prioritisation of CSE in the violence against women and girls (Vawg) strategy.
She said: “We want to support them in this role and make sure sexual violence and sexual abuse against children is very high up on their agenda.
“The Vawg Strategy has been, up until now, quite heavily domestic violence focused, and what we would hope for is a bit of rebalancing and that survivor agencies like ours would be getting the support that we need.”
This comes as a University of York study found that survivors of sexual violence experienced significant improvements in mental health and a reduced reliance on the NHS after accessing support from Survive.
The research found that of cases seen by the charity on a two-year NHS pilot, almost half no longer required NHS mental health services.
Dr Nathalie Noret, from the University of York, said: “It was clear from the data that we analysed, that in using a trauma informed approach, Survive produced outcomes that meant victims of sexual abuse could lead healthier and happier lives.”
