Today Government have published their response to the Task & Finish Group report on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing and have issued their Statutory Guidance for Licensing Authorities. As previously stated LPHCA Chairman Steve Wright was on the committee chaired by Professor Mohammed Abdel-Haq who made the recommendations to government in a report to the Department for Transport (DfT) on 28^th September 2018.

This is the Government’s response to the report, which will be out for consultation for ten weeks, as well as some new Statutory Guidance for Licensing Authorities. There are many positive aspects in the report, which the LPHCA broadly supports, but there are aspects that are clearly not in our interest so we do have work to do.

The LPHCA will be putting forward a considerable response following dialogue with our members and key stakeholders, and will of course publish our response once completed.

The LPHCA, in readiness for this major development, has been preparing for this news, which will be a major part of the inaugural LPHCA National Forum, at The Point at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday 11^th April. We are therefore delighted to have secured Professor Abdel-Haq as our keynote speaker. We are also pleased to announce that both DfT (the Department for Transport) and DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) - two government departments - will be attending the event.

The LPHCA National Forum, will cover the proposals and guidance in detail and in addition cover the regional Air Quality Zones being set up in many areas nationally, as well as in London. This is a free event that will be attended by Private Hire operators, drivers, major industry suppliers, regulators and many more. A panel of industry experts will join Professor Abdel-Haq, DEFRA and our Chairman Steve Wright, in covering the above matters.

We are also actively encouraging private hire operators to join the LPHCA, which is now a national trade body. For more information on membership, click HERE.

Chairman Steve Wright talks to BBC News

Following the announcement, LPHCA Chairman Steve Wright MBE chatted to Annita McVeigh live on BBC News earlier this morning. To view this please click on the video below: