Council teams set aside one day a week for checks on taxi staff

Perth and Kinross Council will dedicated time to carry out immigration checks with staff working for taxi and private hire firms.

Local authority teams have taken on the role following a change in UK legislation which took effect from January 22.

Under the Home Office rules, all taxi and private hire car booking offices are now required to undergo immigration safeguards.

The move follows earlier legislation, introduced in December 2016, which required background checks on drivers seeking new licences or renewals to existing permits.

Meetings with council staff involve a face-to-face session and checks on documentation to determine if the person making the application has the right to work in the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said it was a “sensible precaution” to introduce the immigration checks to the taxi and private vehicle hire sector “where self-employment can be commonplace.”

“We are committed to cracking down on abuse and building an immigration system which works in the best interests of the country,” she said.

“These provisions are part of a package of measures to tackle illegal working, and are consistent with others such as preventing illegal migrants from retaining a UK driving licence, introducing a criminal offence of driving while illegally being in the UK and powers to seize the vehicles of illegal migrants.”

A council spokesperson said: “The council’s licensing team have, as a result of the changes in national legislation, set aside one day per week solely for meetings with taxi/private hire licence applicants.”