Fears grow over taxi drivers working in Portsmouth who get their licence from other towns and cities

A motion on the 'anomaly' will be put forward by Portsmouth Independents Party leader George Madgwick at Tuesday's meeting of the city council in response to fears lax standards elsewhere in the country were 'undermining' efforts to improve safety.

Cllr Madgwick, who is also the vice-chairman of the council's licensing committee, will call on councillors to support efforts to raise the issue with the government in a bid to review the law.

'Many licensing authorities have reviewed and strengthened their licensing policies following high-profile cases,' he will say. 'However, these efforts have been undermined by... drivers who have been licensed in other areas where the licensing requirements may not be as strict.'

He will cite differences in rules around the requirement for taxis to have CCTV systems and the limited powers councils have to intervene.

Cllr Madgwick welcomed new statutory standards published by the government but will call for ‘wider reform’ of the licensing system.

‘Out-of-area working has increased significantly partly due to new app-based models which make it easier for individuals to book a private hire vehicle that is licensed elsewhere,’ his motion will add. ‘As well as varying driver and vehicle standards, another key issue for councils is the limited enforcement powers they have to take action against private hire vehicles that are licensed by another authority.

‘First and foremost, councils have no ability to stop vehicles, which leaves them only able to intervene when a vehicle is stationary, and unable to prevent it being driven off – only the police may stop a vehicle.

‘Secondly, a council may only take action against a vehicle or driver that it has licensed, meaning that there is absolutely nothing that a council can do if a vehicle or driver licensed elsewhere is operating in their area, other than complain to the home authority.’

His motion follows in the wake of concerns about the increasing prevalence of vehicles licensed by councils outside Portsmouth but operating in the city.

Dozens of taxis based in the city, mostly those run by Aqua Cars, are licensed in Wolverhampton which has seen a 15-fold increase in licences issued since the 2015 relaxation of rules, under the Deregulation Act, which means drivers no need to live or work in the local authority area in which they are registered.

Cllr Madgwick said the council had received reports of taxis operating in the city that did not meet standards it would require and that complaints were increasing.

His motion will call on the licensing committee chairman, councillor Scott Payter-Harris, and council leader, councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, to write to the transport secretary and both Portsmouth MPs to request a ‘full’ national review of the rules around taxi licensing

‘We need to bring back local controls to local authority to keep our residents safe,' he said. 'We need to be able to implement policies that are relevant to the local area.’