The Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill 2021-22 has reached the committee stage after competing its second reading on 10 September.

The Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill requires taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities in England to share information of recent adverse licensing history (refusals, suspensions or revocations of a licence) and for this to be considered to mitigate the risk that unsuitable people are granted or hold a taxi or private hire vehicle (PHV) driver licence.

The Bill has two main sets of provisions. The first require licensing authorities in England to input into a central database  instances where the authority has suspended, revoked, refused to grant or refused to renew a taxi or PHV driver’s licence because of certain safeguarding or road safety concerns relating to that driver. Other licensing authorities in England must then have regard to that information when considering whether to grant or renew a taxi or PHV driver’s licence.

The second set of provisions in the Bill requires licensing authorities in England to report certain serious safeguarding or road safety concerns about a taxi or PHV driver working in its area to the licensing authority in England, Wales or Scotland that granted a licence to that driver. The Bill then requires licensing authorities in England to have regard to any such reports received and to consider whether the relevant taxi or PHV driver should remain licensed.