Council backs Labour call to end taxi licensing loophole

MINISTER URGED TO ACT ON TAXI LICENSING. Picture credit: Viktor Bystrov

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Hull City Council has backed Labour councillors’ call for new legislation to bring an end to “out-of-town” taxi licensing.

The Labour group says current loopholes mean councils such as Wolverhampton can issue taxi licences for cities including Hull.

There are fears certain councils may not have the checks and balances in place that Hull City Council has, which may lead to concerns about safety and frustration for taxi drivers who use the local licencing service.

Taxi licences cannot be refused unless there is a good reason for doing so but currently thousands of licences are being issued for other areas, Hull Labour said.

Councillor Daren Hale, leader of the opposition Labour Group at Hull City Council, said: “The Labour Group has long held the view that local councils should be fully responsible for checking taxi licence applications and issuing them locally.

“A recent freedom of information request revealed that 96 per cent of licences issued by Wolverhampton Council alone went to post codes outside of the council area, and we are talking about many thousands of licences.”

Deputy Labour group leader, Councillor Sharon Hofman, said: “It is not the point that other councils apply the same rigorous checks as Hull or not. The point is local residents have every right to expect that taxis operating in Hull have been authorised by their local authority and Hull taxi drivers should also be able to rely on the local authority to ensure consistency.”

She added: “It is not just about Hull; this is a national problem. Local authorities can issue licences for anywhere in the country and it will take national legislation to stop this happening. As a result of this Labour motion, the council has written to the Local Government Minister Jim McMahon MP asking that such legal changes are added to the imminent Local Government Bill.”