The Department for Transport (DfT) has published (on 20th October 2026) its response to the Transport Committee's report on taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing.
The government's response follows the Transport Committee's report on 10th June 2026, which included written evidence from myself as LPHCA Chairman and from Andy Mahoney on behalf of 24x7 Ltd, who also represented The LPHCA in the parliamentary oral evidence session.
In summary, the government will:
- support stronger national standards for safety, safeguarding, driver training and accessibility, while retain some local flexibility
- assess different licensing models to address inconsistent standards and reduce incentives for drivers and operators to work predominantly outside their licensing area
- finish a new national database to help licensing authorities check licence status, licensing history, refusals, suspensions and revocations
- consult on CCTV as part of its forthcoming consultation on national standards, considering privacy and data protection
- on new legislation, publish a draft Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny
The LPHCA will evaluate the government response to the Transport Committee's report on taxi and PHV licensing in preparation for our formal response to the forthcoming consultation.
Click HERE to download the full government response.