CROSS BORDER PROBLEMS: Mayor of Greater Manchester makes fresh calls to end ‘out-of-area taxi working’
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has made fresh calls for an end to out-of-area taxi working, citing it as a growing concern for public safety.
Speaking during a public Examination of Witnesses regarding the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, Burnham highlighted the need for local authorities to address safety issues, particularly within the night-time economy.
Burnham pointed to the problematic situation in Manchester, where large numbers of taxis licensed in Wolverhampton are operating on the streets, especially on weekends. He argued that this practice compromises the safety of those enjoying nights out, as it allows vehicles and drivers licensed hundreds of miles away to operate under different standards.
The Mayor stressed that local authorities should have control over the licensing of taxis working in their area. This would ensure that appropriate checks, such as criminal record checks, are conducted locally and to a higher standard. Burnham expressed frustration that the current system enables drivers to bypass local regulations, which undermines efforts to create safer environments, particularly at night.
He called on Parliament to introduce legislative changes that would end out-of-area taxi licensing and ensure that vehicles operating in a local authority’s jurisdiction are also licensed there. Burnham believes that this would better protect the public and improve safety standards across the country.
His comments reflect a broader push for stronger oversight and better safety measures within the night-time economy, an issue of increasing concern for cities across the UK.
On the topic of taxis and private hire vehicles, Burnham said: “We see concerns about spiking or the unacceptable treatment of women and girls, and there is a whole range of issues that need to be addressed. If we want to have the levels of safety that we all want to see in our country, there has to a more serious look taken at some of what happens within the night-time economy.
“For me, that would include ending out-of-area taxi working, for instance. We have a situation in our city region right now where, if you go into the city centre of Manchester pretty much any night of the week, but certainly on a Friday or Saturday, you will see hundreds and hundreds of taxis with a Wolverhampton plate."
Burnham added: ”It cannot be in the interest of public safety to have taxis licensed 100 miles away. I would say to local authorities that we need to start calling for change on public safety on nights out. That would include arrangements at the local authority level to ensure that taxi drivers are adequately licensed, and that the relevant criminal record checks are done at a local level and not undercut by something happening a few hundred miles away.
“I think that is an issue for Parliament. The time has come to end out-of-area work and require that the local authorities where people are doing their job are the ones that license those vehicles. I would like to see wider guidance given to local authorities and legislative change to support them in taking steps to protect the public when they are on nights out, both in implementing this legislation and in improving the safety of what goes on in and around venues on nights out.”
