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Taxi drivers are shopping for licences in Wolverhampton to get spherical robust guidelines aimed at defending children, a Labour MP claims.
One-in-five non-public rent automobiles in England, comparable to Ubers and minicabs, have obtained licences from Wolverhampton City Council, the place they’re cheaper and fewer stringent than in different elements of the nation.
Drivers would not have to get licences from their very own native authority, underneath a legislation launched in 2015.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion says this permits drivers in her constituency to bypass robust safeguarding guidelines launched after a 2014 baby intercourse abuse scandal.
“The frustration is that in Rotherham we have probably the best regulation in the country and we’re trying to get that adopted nationally,” she told the BBC.
“We wanted it as a result of numerous children who had been being exploited had been being raped in taxis or being transported from one children’s residence to the abuse location by means of a taxi.
“The problem is those regulations are only set by the licensing authority so unless we get national minimum standards then drivers can go to a different local authority with different regulations and still drive in Rotherham.”
Only 1,781 of the 48,447 drivers at present licensed by Wolverhampton stay within the metropolis, with the remainder working as far afield as Newcastle, Somerset, Cardiff and Skegness.
The price of a one yr non-public rent licence in Rotherham is £210 and candidates should sit a toddler and weak adults safeguarding take a look at with a 100% move charge. They even have to match CCTV cameras to their automobiles, which might price upwards of £350.
In Wolverhampton, in contrast, a one yr licence prices £49.
Wolverhampton City Council insists it takes safeguarding severely – and candidates obtain coaching in at as a part of a one-day course they’ve to take.
But Rotherham driver Lee Ward, a Unite the Union consultant for South Yorkshire, mentioned out-of-town licences had been making taxi drivers “very frustrated”.
“Unfortunately a lot of taxi drivers around here were tarred by the same brush as those who were criminals,” he told BBC News.
“These are harmless drivers who had been hastily hit by so many further laws, coaching, CCTV.
“They’ve all gone through that – with open arms and a glad heart – just to sit next to a taxi who has a license in another authority 100 miles away, with officers who never come to Rotherham or Sheffield to check their drivers.
“It simply makes a mockery of what they’re attempting to do.”
Wolverhampton City Council has generated millions from issuing licences to taxi drivers around the country but says the money has been ploughed back into reducing fees.
A City of Wolverhampton Council spokeswoman mentioned: “The council would refute any suggestion of prioritising earning money over passenger safety.”
In a recent report, the council said: “As the number of licensees increase, the likelihood of a serious issue taking place.
“There has been serious child sex exploitation scandals revealed in Rotherham and Telford, which involved taxi drivers.
“Licensed vehicles provide a ‘camouflage’ which allows vehicles to traffic vulnerable people, as well as the offer of free trips for grooming. It is the service’s goal to minimise risks by all legal means.”
Earlier this yr, Louise Haigh – who’s now transport secretary however at the time was in opposition – raised the difficulty of kid safeguarding in a debate on taxi licensing, saying she had labored alongside victims and survivors of kid sexual abuse in Rotherham.
She mentioned: “Following the scandal, Rotherham council set very high standards for its taxi drivers, including installing CCTV in cabs and requiring national vocational qualification level 3 on child safeguarding.”
She known as on then Conservative authorities to usher in “robust legislation” and nationwide minimal requirements to defend girls and women.
Sarah Champion has written to Haigh asking for brand spanking new legal guidelines to guarantee taxis should be licensed “in the local authority area in which they routinely operate”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson mentioned: “Everyone deserves to feel safe when using a taxi or private hire vehicle and we’re aware of concerns around licensing.
“There are safeguarding procedures in place and all drivers should endure enhanced DBS checks, however we’re fastidiously contemplating the choices obtainable to enhance security and accessibility within the sector.”
MPs are due to debate the difficulty in a while Monday.
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