I am asking for the results of the consultation.

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Our Ref:         FOI-2064-2021

Thank you for your request received on 13 January 2021 asking for the results of the consultation on 'Improving Standards in Private Hire Vehicles.'

Your request has being considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.

On 9 February 2021 Transport for London (TfL) published a consultation entitled In-vehicle CCTV in taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) (https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph/in-vehicle-cctv/supporting_documents/invehiclecctvin taxisandphvs.pdf).

This consultation contains a section (https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph/in-vehicle-cctv/supporting_documents/invehiclecctvin taxisandphvs.pdf) on the Improving Safety in PHVs consultation (https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/taxis/improving-phv-safety/) results, a relevant extract of which is provided below. 

Improving safety in PHVs consultation

In March 2018, we undertook a consultation on proposals to improve safety in PHVs. The proposals were intended to improve the quality, safety, accessibility and overall
standard of PHV provision in London.

Areas covered in the consultation included:

• Introducing a driving assessment for PHV drivers
• Signage for PHVs
• Displaying PHV driver identification on PHVs
• Insurance requirements for PHVs
• Background checks for PHV drivers

Since the consultation closed, in June 2018, there have been several significant developments in taxi and private hire including:

In late 2017 the DfT commissioned a taxi and private hire Task and Finish Group, chaired by Professor Abdel-Haq:

• The membership of the group was:

o Helen Chapman - Director of Licensing, Regulation & Charging, TfL
o Rt Hon Frank Field MP - Member of Parliament for Birkenhead
o Saskia Garner - Policy Officer, Personal Safety, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust
o Ellie Greenwood - Senior Adviser (Regulation), Local Government Association
o Dr Michael Grenfell - Executive Director, Enforcement, Competition and Markets Authority
o Anne Main MP - Member of Parliament for St Albans
o Steve McNamara - General Secretary, Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association
o Mick Rix - National Officer for Transport and Distribution, GMB union
o Donna Short - Director, National Private Hire and Taxi Association
o Steve Wright MBE - Chairman, Licensed Private Hire Car Association

The Group was tasked with considering evidence relating to the adequacy of current taxi and PHV licensing authority powers, as set out in legislation and guidance, making recommendations for actions to address any priority issues identified. Specifically:

o Identifying the current priority concerns regarding the regulation of the sector, based on evidence of impact and scale across England
o Considering, in particular, the adequacy of measures in the licensing system to address those issues
o Considering whether it would advise the Government to accept the recommendations made in the Law Commission’s May 2014 report on taxi and PHV legislative reform relevant to the issues
o Making specific and prioritised recommendations, legislative and non-legislative, for action to address identified and evidenced issues

In September 2018, following a lengthy evidence gathering process, the Chair of the DfT commissioned Task and Finish Group set out his recommendations on taxi and
PHV licensing in the independent report Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: recommendations for a safer and more robust system. One of their recommendations was that the Government should legislate for national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing which, if taken forward, would include some of the areas that had initially been covered in TfL’s consultation.

In February 2019, the DfT launched its own consultation Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: protecting users. This consultation sought to address how licensing authorities can use their licensing powers to protect children and vulnerable adults. Following this consultation with trade, regulators and safety campaign groups, in July 2020 the Government issued Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards. Within these new statutory standards, there are several areas of crossover with TfL’s original consultation. For instance, the issue of appropriate signage in vehicles and improving background checks on drivers are both addressed. To ensure that future London specific regulation remains aligned with the national picture, we placed the outcome of our consultation on hold.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also had an unprecedented impact on the taxi and private hire industry in London and during extraordinary and worrying times, licensees are facing significant personal and economic challenges.

In light of the above and after carefully considering the responses to our Improving Safety in PHVs consultation, we will be prioritising the implementation of the national
Statutory Standards. Concluding our own consultation will enable us to implement a single set of improved standards, that align with the national framework and will
mean there is not a sub-set of regional adaptations that drivers will have to adhere to in these challenging times.

We acknowledge that there are some areas of our consultation, such as the Advanced Driver Test, that will not be progressed at this time as part of this work. However, there are other areas that clearly overlap, such as the proposal to introduce additional signage in licensed vehicles which we will continue to progress.

Once the new national standards are introduced and are the new norm and the industry is on the road to recovery following the pandemic, we will review any outstanding proposals in our consultation to determine whether they are still required.

We are grateful for the contributions from industry on this consultation, the consultation responses remain on record and will be considered in the development
of future regulations.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

 

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