Knowledge test for taxi drivers axed by council

Taxi drivers will no longer have to take a knowledge test to gain a licence from a Lincolnshire council.

Members of South Kesteven District Council approved and adopted a new hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy which removed the requirement to take a street knowledge-based test.

Under the new policy, an English test will continue to be mandatory but applicants will not have to pay for their first attempt to pass.

Councillor Philip Knowles, cabinet member for corporate governance and licensing, said the changes were made in response to concerns about driver retention and the costs of applying for a taxi licence.

Knowles, told a meeting on Thursday there had been a large amount of feedback from drivers, operators and members of the public who had asked the council to look at their licensing policy, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Issues that came up on a regular basis were our comparisons with neighbouring authorities, our concerns about costs, or drivers' concerns about costs, and in particular, the national state of taxis," he said.

Knowles said the Hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy was a locally controlled initiative and authorities could make their own decisions on how taxi drivers were licensed in their area.

Under the new policy, the council has also introduced a one-year licence.

Knowles said it was expensive to recruit and retain new licensees, and a 12-month licence was less expensive than a three-year licence.

Conservative councillor Nikki Manterfield said she approved of the new policy, which she said had updated and modernised the licencing process.

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