Its made the press -
Five foreign Lincoln taxi drivers get licences 'without proper checks'At least five foreign taxi drivers have been given licences in Lincoln in recent months without proper background checks.
Since November, the City of Lincoln Council has issued licences to five drivers from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
The decisions were made without any official paperwork from their countries, but there is no suggestion these drivers have criminal records.
It is unclear how many others have also been issued licences and the city council did not respond to a request for figures.
But Jim Hart, 63, a Lincoln taxi driver for more than 30 years, said: "I wouldn't get a licence without a disclosure and barring service check but criminal record checks on people from outside the EU only cover for as long as they've been in the country.
"But it seems strange to me. If they're unable to get a letter of good conduct, there's nothing to say what a driver may have or may not have done before coming to the UK, and that's worrying.
"The council has been unable to check the backgrounds of these foreign applicants but issued licences in good faith.
"I think that's wrong."
Officials must be satisfied people are 'fit and proper' to hold taxi licences, based on the UK-wide Disclosure and Barring Service, formerly CRB, checks.
In addition, foreign nationals and UK nationals who have lived abroad must supply a good conduct certificate via their embassies.
But the recent Lincoln licences were decided without good conduct documentation.
The decisions on the foreign drivers have been made at three secret meetings held at City Hall in the last three months.
According to minutes of those meetings, members of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee said that they understood people's difficulties in obtaining such documents from overseas.
And after hearing from applicants, they concluded there was no reason to doubt their good character.
A review into the council's taxi policy will take place later this year.
Kevin Barron, the council's licensing manager, said:
"The fit and proper test means the council has to ensure so far as possible that those licensed to drive private hire vehicles and hackney carriages are safe drivers with good driving records and adequate experience, sober, mentally and physically fit, honest, and capable of conducting their business in an appropriate manner."
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