- Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy to discuss end of ‘out of area'
taxi licensing at a meeting with senior Government
ministers today
- Boost for the city region's ‘Backing our taxis' campaign, as
MPs make the case in parliament for inclusion in new
legislation
- An amendment to the new English Devolution and Community
Empowerment Bill could help address the current situation –
where nearly half of private hire vehicles being driven
in Greater Manchester are licensed elsewhere
- Mayor Burnham says decisive action is needed to fix a broken
national system
Mayor of Greater Manchester will call on the government to
put a stop to ‘out of area' licensing at a key meeting with
senior ministers this morning [Thursday 4 September].
He plans to put the issue in the national spotlight at a meeting
of the Mayoral Council, where England's regional mayors
discuss pressing issues with senior government ministers –
including the Secretary of State for Transport. Mayor
Burnham will say that an amendment to the English Devolution
and Community Empowerment Bill – currently going through
parliament – is needed to tackle ‘a broken taxi system',
where one local authority dominates licensing
nationally, undermining local enforcement and
accountability.
It comes as Greater Manchester MPs (Makerfield) and (Bury North), supported
the cause for such an amendment in parliament this week as the
bill received its second reading – a move also previously
backed by Hazel Grove MP . It's all part of the
Greater Manchester-led campaign – Backing our taxis:
Local. Licensed. Trusted – which aims for the
city-region's fleet to be amongst the safest and most trusted in
the country.
Launched in April, the
campaign calls more local accountability to drive higher
taxi standards, stronger public safety and safeguard the
livelihoods of drivers. Then, in June, the issue was
addressed in Baroness Casey's national audit on group-based
child sexual exploitation and abuse, with a recommendation –
accepted by Government – to put an end to ‘out of area
taxis' and bring in more rigorous standards and
enforcement.
Figures show that more than 11% of England's private hire
vehicles are licensed by one local authority, City of
Wolverhampton Council, up from below 0.5% less than a decade ago.
In Greater Manchester, nearly half (49%) of private hire
vehicles are now licensed by authorities outside of its ten
councils. The city-region's out of area figure of more than
12,000 has risen sharply from just under 7,000 in
2023.
Mayor of Greater Manchester said: “For too
long, communities in Greater Manchester and across the country
have been at the mercy of a broken taxi system that allows
private hire vehicles and drivers to be licensed hundreds of
miles away from where they live and operate. This is not just a
matter of fairness for locally licensed drivers to protect
their livelihoods - it's a matter of public safety.
“Greater Manchester has led the call for reform, and it's
great to see that being backed by our local MPs. With the
government having already accepted Baroness Casey's
recommendation regarding out of area licensing – further
reinforcing the urgent need for change – this Bill provides
an opportunity for decisive action to be taken by the
Government. “
Avoiding unnecessary delay and acting quickly to address
out-of-area licensing will allow us to restore trust and
raise standards through a system that is safe, fair, and locally
controlled.”
The government has previously committed to consult on changing
where responsibility for taxi and private hire licensing
sits. But it says legislative change is also needed to address
the issue with drivers licensing in a different place to
where they live and work. In the meantime, Greater
Manchester has run its own 12-week engagement with the taxi
trade this summer. With over 5,000 responses, it aimed to
get under the bonnet of the drivers' experiences with
licensing in Greater Manchester and explore how, under the
current system, drivers could be encouraged and incentivised
to license here.
A report with recommendations on the longer-term visions for
taxis and licensing will be considered by the Greater
Manchester Combined Authority this Autumn.
