Postcode lottery lets criminal taxi drivers find work

TAXI DRIVERS could be exploiting a postcode lottery to avoid stringent criminal record checks, the Local Government Association has warned.

Inconsistencies in the level of checks carried out by different local authorities mean that taxi drivers with criminal records or poor driving standards could go to areas perceived to be soft targets, a spokesman said.

“Some might have limitations about certain types of previous convictions on drivers so there might be discrepancies on that in some areas, or they might not need to pass a local knowledge test, for example,” he added.

The areas with lighter requirements are well-known among the taxi community, he added, raising concerns that exploitative taxi drivers could play the system.

“Drivers may apply for a licence in one council and be rejected, so then they go somewhere else and they say yes, because they meet the criteria there,” he added.

Councils are unable to take action against drivers operating in their area who have been licensed by a different council, the LGA added, causing “huge frustration” for local drivers who “may have had to comply with more rigorous licensing standards”.

Last year the council in Rotherham, where some drivers were part of an organised ring which picked up and abused more than 1,000 young girls over 16 years, changed its taxi licensing policy. The new rules require drivers to have safeguarding training, ban them from having children in the front seat, and require the installation of cameras in most taxis.

The LGA is calling for a Government-enforced law which would create a “level playing field” for drivers.

Last month a report by the All-party Parliamentary Group on taxis made a similar recommendation, calling on the Government to “clarify its position on taxi and private hire vehicle regulation”.