Tory taxi and minicab reforms will put passengers at risk

Taxis and minicabs are a vital part of our public transport system. They are vital for the elderly, disabled and those unable to drive – and are relied on for getting young people, students and women home late at night too. Councils regulate taxis and minicabs to ensure vehicles are safe, conducting yearly checks to make sure drivers are ‘fit and proper’ to carry passengers. Sadly we know the current system is open to abuse.

In Milton Keynes a man previously convicted of sexual assault was granted a minicab license after a local Councillor affirmed he was of ‘ good current character’. The Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherhamconcluded that taxis and minicabs were a major feature of sexual exploitation cases there. Ten different women and girls in the town had allegations against one firm alone.

The Inquiry makes for grim reading. It reveals the powerlessness of councils – whose collaboration with the police is often poor – to take enforcement action. Local licensing officers cannot stop vehicles in the street, and can’t enforce the law over vehicles or drivers from another area. So what are Ministers doing to step up enforcement and protect passengers in the wake of these shocking revelations?

Last year the Home Secretary said she wanted a joined up safeguarding approach from the Government, councils, police and other agencies to ensure the events of Rotherham are never repeated. The Labour Party agrees, and has called for tougher lawsto make reporting of child abuse mandatory too. So why is the Conservative-led Government hell bent on tearing up minicab laws, making it easier for sexual predators to exploit the system? The author of the Report, Alexis Jay OBE, has warned against this deregulation.

In the face of opposition from safety campaigners, councils and Labour, the Government thankfully u-turned over the proposalto let anyone drive a minicab – which their own Impact Assessment said could increase the illegal use of minicabs in the UK – last year. But in the House of Lords this week Ministers are will still try to push through measures that will end annual license checks on drivers, and enable bookings to be transferred to firms in other areas. This is a nightmare for parents who rightly tell their teenage sons and daughters only to use minicab firms they know are safe, and it is nightmare for the student unions, councils, hospitals and care services who have specific agreements with companies they know are safe.

All this from a Government who say that improving women’s safety on transport is a priority?These Tory reforms threaten to put vulnerable passengers at risk. And by delaying the publication of their Impact Assessment of this policy, and their response to the Law Commission’s review of licensing law, Ministers are just keeping the public in the dark. Labour MPs and Lords have continued to vote against these risky reforms and this week will push to give local authorities the enforcement powers they need – and to ensure that passengers must consent to having their booking transferred.

We need stronger, not weaker, enforcement in this vital part of our transport system. It is not right that safety fears are restricting people’s journeys. It is not acceptable that young women in Rotherham avoided taxis as a form of transport because they were scared. Passengers must be put first.