Saturday 21 Jan 2012 @ 14:15
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
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LGA - Councils secure the right to carry out thorough checks on taxi drivers

Responding to the Home Office announcement recently that councils will no longer be prevented from requesting enhanced CRB checks when licensing drivers of taxis and mincabs, Councillor Mehboob Khan, Chair of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said:

"The number one priority for councils is always to keep residents safe. We take this responsibility very seriously and were very concerned about the Government decision to stop enhanced CRB checks for taxi and private hire drivers. Anyone getting into a taxi or private hire vehicle should be able to do so safe in the knowledge that they can rely on their council having fully checked the background of the driver before giving them a licence. 

"The overwhelming majority of licensed taxi and private hire drivers are reputable and honest individuals who provide a valuable service to the public and generate significant revenue for the areas in which they work. Councils want to help support and promote this positive image of our taxi industry by ensuring that the licensing process cannot be exploited by those looking to target vulnerable passengers 

"The LGA put significant pressure on the Government about this issue because enhanced CRB checks are fundamental to a robust taxi licensing process that can protect passengers effectively. We are pleased that they have listened. It is a very positive move that councils will also have additional powers to check whether any applicant is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults." 

Notes for editors 

  1. The LGA had been lobbying, alongside Transport for London, for the Government to reconsider its position.           
  2. In London alone, 10 per cent of all licence applications were refused as a result of discoveries made through an enhanced check, demonstrating the check's clear contribution to passenger safety. 
  3. The Criminal Records Bureau informed councils in 2011 that it was ending the 10-year practice of checking drivers through the enhanced check. 
  4. In 2011, an LGA commissioned survey by ComRes found that: 
  • 93 per cent of people expect councils to check whether a potential driver had been banned from working with children
  • 92 per cent expect the same checks to be carried out to see if they had been banned from working with vulnerable adults
  • 85 per cent expect local police records to be checked to highlight other relevant information, where further action is likely to be taken
  • 53 per cent feel that local police records should also be checked to highlight cases where no further action was likely to be taken.

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