Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales, confirmed plans to modernising taxi & PH licensing in a recent oral statement on the Welsh Government's Legislative Programme.

In the statement, Mr Gething said:

"Llywydd, I now turn to those Bills that my Government will introduce in the rest of this Senedd term. We have a packed legislative agenda ahead as we continue to make laws that will deliver positive and progressive change. My Government is committed to improving transport networks, helping to tackle the climate emergency and restoring a sense of belonging, connection and community. We will radically reshape the public transport system, bringing forward a bus Bill to enable all levels of government in Wales to work together. We can then design bus networks that allow people to access reliable, sustainable services and to provide real options other than car journeys."

Being questioned on the slow progress of the taxi and private hire vehicles Bill, Mr Gething said:

"Well, I set out the transport-related Bills that will be coming forward in this legislative programme statement. The clue is in the title: much of what the Member said has nothing to do with legislation. When it comes to our capacity to legislate, we are legislating in a way that I think Members of the Senedd will be very busy dealing with this legislation. When Members are saying more legislation, then, on top of this, I think that is a real misunderstanding of the amount of work that lies ahead of Members, both Ministers leading Bills and indeed any backbenchers looking to introduce legislation. You may want to talk to your colleague about the significant amount of work he’s had to engage with as a Member in wanting to introduce a discrete piece of legislation, and indeed all backbenchers who will scrutinise the Bills that will come forward.

"On buses and taxis, we previously had a proposal to do both things in one piece of legislation, and the Bill ended up being unmanageable and too big, and we also needed to make sure that we had the expertise focused on delivering against the piece of legislation that mattered, rather than having to shoehorn them both in. We do, though, have a policy issue and a practical issue around cross-bordering. I hear it loud and clear. We also, though, need to work through with different stakeholders, including representatives of taxi drivers themselves, to understand what a solution could look like. That is work that Ken Skates is engaged in with his officials, with local authorities, with operators and, as I said, representatives of taxi drivers themselves, because I'm keen that we see progress. I also know that there are commitments to look at this issue in England as well, because in large parts of Wales, cross-bordering isn't simply about local authorities in Wales, it is about people moving from one local authority across the whole border as well, so you see a number of people travelling from Bristol to work in Wales. You see that movement, which is entirely necessary and reasonable for lots of journeys in north-east Wales, where we have a number of areas where the border runs through settlements."