Blackpool MP meets taxi minister to call for overhaul of licensing rules

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb is calling on the government to overhaul taxi laws following a meeting with the minister in charge.

Mr Webb held talks with Simon Lightwood, a minister in the Department for Transport, to raise concerns from cabbies in Blackpool that some drivers are flouting the rules.

Deregulation of the taxi industry means operators can work in towns where they are not licensed which it is claimed weakens the powers of local councils to control and inspect taxis.

Mr Webb said the minister was supportive of his calls for a review and “understood the particular challenges local cabbies face in Blackpool” with the department already looking at updating the rules.

Following the meeting, Mr Webb said: “Since the deregulation of the taxi industry in 2015, private hire drivers have been able to operate anywhere in England and Wales with a local authority licence.

“The Deregulation Act permits private hire vehicle operators to subcontract bookings across different licensing areas. This has an adverse impact on both local taxi firms and public safety standards.

“While out of town firms are able to apply for a licence to operate in Blackpool, I am concerned about the standards of some private hire operators in the town who may be contravening rules.

“I called on the government to overhaul the law on controversial cross-border hiring. Private hire vehicles should be licensed in the area where a journey starts or finishes to accept a booking.

“The minister was supportive and understood the particular challenges local cabbies face in Blackpool, where work is already precarious and inconsistent due to the town’s seasonality. His department is already looking into updating the taxi laws and to clamp down on illegal and uninsured drivers.”

Blackpool taxi driver Neil Charnock launched a petition in July calling on the government to review the deregulation of taxis which he says is damaging livelihoods.

The council granted Uber a licence this summer to operate in Blackpool after saying the operator fulfilled all the criteria.

But the Blackpool Taxi Association, which represents drivers in the town, criticised the move and said there had been a number of complaints made against out-of-town Uber drivers who had already been working in the town due to them allegedly contravening rules.