"The government's review of taxi licensing in England follows Baroness Casey's report on grooming gangs, which identified taxis being used by offenders across the country and recommended tougher rules. At the moment, taxi drivers can buy a private hire vehicle licence from one council but work as far away as they like, taking advantage of lower standards, cheaper licences, and a lack of enforcement. This allows them to get around tough rules aimed at protecting children, such as Rotherham's gold standard licensing scheme, which includes CCTV in cabs."
""I think there's an argument that CCTV should be a national requirement because of the potential safety it provides for passengers but also for drivers as well," she said. "I met Rotherham [council] very recently and they're one of the 8% of local authorities that do mandate CCTV. "I can absolutely see why that's the case and therefore I think it's worth us considering as part of national minimum standards.""
The government is reviewing taxi licensing in England following the Casey review on grooming gangs, which found offenders used taxis and called for tougher rules. Drivers can obtain private hire licences from one council and operate far beyond that area, exploiting lower standards, cheaper licences, and weak enforcement. This practice undermines local gold-standard schemes like Rotherham's, which mandates CCTV in cabs. The Transport Minister emphasised avoiding demonising the trade while warning against complacency and signalled openness to national minimum standards, including consideration of mandatory CCTV to improve safety for passengers and drivers. Only around 8% of local authorities currently mandate CCTV, with Rotherham singled out for going above and beyond after its own grooming scandal.
Read at www.bbc.com
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