Decision

RESOLVED:

1. This Council notes that:

a)            Private hire vehicles are an essential part of the city’s transport network, providing residents with flexible and accessible transport.

b)            The Government has recently consulted on reforming taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, including proposals aimed at reducing out-of-area working and considering whether licensing responsibilities should sit with local transport authorities.

c)             Under current legislation, including changes introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015, private hire vehicles can lawfully work outside the area in which they are licensed.

d)            It is estimated that around 45% of licensed vehicles operating in Milton Keynes are licensed by other authorities, including Buckinghamshire, London, Wolverhampton, Luton, Bedfordshire and West Northamptonshire.

e)            Milton Keynes’ taxi licensing requirements include a number of measures designed to improve passenger safety, such as mandatory safeguarding and equality training, which includes education on domestic abuse and is recorded on completion, and White Ribbon training. These measures are not consistently required by other licensing authorities, resulting in varying safety standards between licensed vehicles operating in the city.

f)              In 2025, Milton Keynes City Council officers carried out 2,132 checks on out-of-area drivers and vehicles, with approximately 45% of licensing enforcement time spent on vehicles licensed elsewhere, despite the Council being unable to recover those costs, leaving local taxpayers to bear the financial burden.

g)            During the same year, the Council received 89 complaints about out-of-area vehicles and drivers, which had to be referred to their respective taxi licensing authorities for investigation. Only ten successful prosecutions were brought against drivers licensed by other authorities.

h)            Milton Keynes City Council previously sought legal action to strengthen its ability to regulate out-of-area vehicles operating in the city, but the High Court ruled against the Council in 2017. The Government’s consideration of reform provides an opportunity to address these longstanding issues, and greater local control should form part of future devolution to Strategic Authorities.

1. This Council believes that:

a)            Residents should be able to expect high and consistent standards of safety and accountability from taxis and private hire vehicles operating in Milton Keynes, regardless of where they are licensed.

b)            The current system places additional pressure on Milton Keynes’ taxi licensing enforcement resources while limiting the Council’s ability to deal directly with complaints about drivers licensed elsewhere.

c)             Taxi licensing should be more closely linked to the area in which a driver predominantly works, or where they live, giving local authorities greater ability to set standards, carry out effective enforcement and protect passengers.

1. This Council resolves to:

a)            Ask the Cabinet Member responsible for Taxi Licensing to write to the Minister for Buses and Local Transport, to:

i)               welcome the Government’s recognition of the issues caused by out-of-area working;

ii)             call for reforms that give local authorities greater control over vehicles predominantly operating in their area;

iii)           ask the Government to consider requiring drivers to be licensed within the local authority, or future Strategic Authority area, in which they predominantly work or live, while allowing legitimate cross-boundary journeys; and

iv)           call for councils and future Strategic Authorities to have stronger powers to ensure consistent licensing, safety and enforcement standards for vehicles operating within their areas, and for the costs of taxi licensing enforcement to be met by the authority that issued the licence.

b)            Ask the Director of Environment and Property to continue working with neighbouring licensing authorities and Thames Valley Police to share intelligence, improve passenger safety and support effective enforcement.

c)             Ask the Regulatory Committee, to consider, as part of its’s work program to continue monitoring the impact of out-of-area vehicles on enforcement resources and use Milton Keynes’ experience to inform national discussions on taxi and private hire licensing reform.