Greater Manchester mayor urges Government to stop 'out of area' taxi licensing
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has called on the Government to put a stop to “out of area” taxi licensing at a key meeting with senior ministers.
He put the issue in the national spotlight on Thursday morning at a meeting of the Mayoral Council, where England’s regional mayors discuss pressing issues with senior Government ministers.
Mr Burnham said an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill – currently going through Parliament – is needed to tackle the “broken taxi system”, where one local authority dominates licensing nationally.
It comes after Makerfield MP Josh Simons supported the cause for such an amendment in Parliament this week as the bill received its second reading.
It is part of the Greater Manchester-led campaign Backing Our Taxis: Local. Licensed. Trusted, which aims for the city-region’s fleet to be among 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.
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 per cent of England’s private hire vehicles are licensed by City of Wolverhampton Council, up from below 0.5 per cent less than a decade ago.
In Greater Manchester, nearly half (49 per cent) of private hire vehicles are now licensed by authorities outside its 10 councils. The city-region’s out-of-area figure of more than 12,000 has risen sharply from just under 7,000 in 2023.
Mr Burnham 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.
Greater Manchester ran its own 12-week engagement with the taxi trade this summer, looking at drivers’ experiences with licensing and how, under the current system, they 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 Greater Manchester Combined Authority this autumn.