Out-of-area taxi-licensing faces government action

The practice of out-of-area taxi work, in which drivers get a licence in one place but operate mainly in another, is to be overhauled by the government.

It has been prompted after a sharp rise in licences from City of Wolverhampton Council, leading it to be dubbed the UK's "taxi capital".

The news comes after 17 allegations of sexual assault or rape were reported against Wolverhampton-licensed private hire drivers in a three-month period of 2025, a Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed.

Passenger safety is a key reason why the Department for Transport (DfT) is acting, and City of Wolverhampton Council says "safeguarding is our number one priority in taxi licensing".

None of the alleged sexual offences took place within Wolverhampton, the FoI confirmed.

"We will respond to the consultation when we have had time to fully understand the implications," the spokesperson added.

In the last five years, Wolverhampton has tripled the number of private hire vehicles it has licensed, a practice that is legal.

Up to 96% of the licences it issued between April 2023 and the end of March 2024 were for people living and working outside the city.

A myriad of councils including those in Manchester, Blackpool, Somerset, Hull and Portsmouth, have all voiced concerns about Wolverhampton's taxi licensing ptactice.

The DfT said the proposals would reduce the number of licensing authorities and the number of boundaries between areas, with "licensees having fewer opportunities to seek out less stringent licensing rules".

For example, currently in Greater Manchester there are 10 licensing authorities. However, under the proposals, this would be reduced to just one authority.

A public consultation on the proposals has been launched and run for 12 weeks. Details are available on the DfT website.

However Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the government's plans on the issue were "not good enough".

Burnham has ardently supported a ban on the practice, claiming more than half of private hire vehicles operating in Greater Manchester were licensed elsewhere.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, he said: "We were saying end out-of-area working, not reduce. I do not think we should have plates on taxis from 75 miles away.

"It would not be good enough if it's just 'reduce'. If 'reduce' means 'practically end', that's what we want."

The DfT said that women and girls would be better protected under the changes.

Their proposals form part of the government's response to Baroness Casey's National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

The proposals were a "step towards making our streets safer, especially for women and girls, helping deliver on the Government's Plan for Change," the DfT added.

The FoI request revealed six of the alleged assaults took place while the driver was working.

None of the incidents occurred in Wolverhampton itself.

Of the 17 alleged incidents, between August and November last year, six occurred in Birmingham, two in Coventry and one in Walsall.

Other incidents occurred in Derbyshire, Bradford, Luton, Nottingham, Hull, Portsmouth, Derby, and Leicester.

In regards to police action:

• Two drivers were arrested and charged with sexual assault
• Two cases were closed with no further police action
• In another case, no further action was taken with the councils saying the incident was "unsubstantiated"
• In 12 cases, police investigations are still ongoing after arrests of the drivers

Mark White, a London black cab taxi driver and committee member for the London Cab Drivers Club, made the FoI request.

Speaking about the results, je told the BBC: "What it shows is there's no compliance. There's no oversight. These drivers are doing what they like. It's atrocious.

"Wolverhampton's reputation is being damaged. They're the ones chucking out licences like confetti, just because it's cheap.

"But it's cheap because they're not spending money on compliance."

The Wolverhampton council spokesperson said the authority carried out 488 compliance operations across the country in the financial year of 2024-2025, including on Friday and Saturday nights.

Officers from the respective licensing authority were invited to these operations, which often involved local police and representatives from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

Addressing the FoI revelations, the spokesperson said: "None of these drivers had a criminal conviction on their records when their licence was issued.

"Once aware of the allegations, we ensured all drivers surrendered their licence within one working day.

"The rate of such reports against our drivers is lower than the rate of complaints against drivers of other licensing authorities."

They said it was not the authority's policy to grant licences to any driver with a sex offence against their name.

"Our application process includes vigorous checks, and we are the only licensing authority to carry out daily DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks on all of our drivers.

"[But] we stress that it is illegal for the council to refuse applicants a taxi licence on the basis of where they live."

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.