Private hire drivers reported for alleged sexual assaults

"With almost 33,900 private hire vehicles licensed by the local authority on the road this year - 96% of them outside the city - Wolverhampton has been dubbed the "taxi capital" of the UK and criticised by other councils. A Freedom Of Information (FOI) by a London-based taxi driver showed nine of the 17 assaults between 11 August and 11 November were related to passengers."

""Safeguarding is our number one priority in taxi licensing, and we adhere to all standards as set by government," they added. "None of these drivers had a criminal conviction on their records when their licence was issued. "Once aware of the allegations, we ensured all drivers surrendered their licence within one working day. "Our policy is not to grant licences to anyone with a sexual offence or on a barred list. Our application process includes vigorous checks, and we are the only licensing authority to carry out daily DBS checks on all of our drivers.""

"Mark White, a London black cab taxi driver and committee member for the London Cab Drivers Club, submitted the original FOI. He previously tried to request data for the course of a year, but was told by the council this exceeded the cost of compliance."

Seventeen reports of alleged sexual assault or rape were made against Wolverhampton-licensed private hire drivers over a three-month period. Almost 33,900 private hire vehicles were licensed by the local authority this year, with 96% licensed outside the city. A Freedom of Information request by a London-based taxi driver showed nine of the 17 alleged assaults between 11 August and 11 November involved passengers. City of Wolverhampton Council said the rate of reports against their drivers was lower than many other licensing authorities and that safeguarding is its number one priority. The council said none of the drivers had criminal convictions when licences were issued, required licence surrender within one working day after allegations, does not grant licences to people with sexual offences or on barred lists, and conducts daily DBS checks. The FOI requester expressed concern about Wolverhampton-licensed drivers operating elsewhere and vehicle safety; a year-long data request was previously refused as exceeding compliance costs.

Read at www.bbc.com