Taxi drivers have been caught exploiting “broken” anti-rape gang licensing rules brought in after the Rotherham and Telford grooming scandals.
Drivers are securing their licences from Wolverhampton Council rather than their local authorities thanks to the authority’s looser entry requirements.
The practice allows drivers to avoid measures such as mandatory CCTV, audio recording and additional driving tests – all of which were put in place in areas where the vile gangs operated.
In the year ending March 2024, Wolverhampton issued 20,375 licences to drivers based outside the city, compared to just 813 for local drivers.
Sarah Champion, Rotherham’s Labour MP, has warned that drivers are “unquestionably” obtaining licences elsewhere to avoid onerous requirements.
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Taxi drivers have been caught exploiting ‘broken’ anti-rape gang licensing rules (file photo)
“The link between private-hire vehicles and child sexual exploitation has been well established by numerous reports,” she said.
The “loophole” has been blown open in Greater Manchester, where almost half of private-hire vehicles are now licensed “out of area”.
Drivers at Manchester Piccadilly station have openly acknowledged choosing Wolverhampton for its loose laws.
“It’s cheap, it’s easier,” Wolverhampton-licensed driver Yasar Ditta told The Telegraph.
Another driver added: “In Manchester you have to do [an additional] driving test, all these things. I didn’t need to do that [to get my licence from Wolverhampton Council].
“There aren’t as many obstacles. Manchester chooses to make it hard for people.”
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Andy Burnham has labelled the system ‘broken’
A one-year licence in Wolverhampton costs £69, excluding DBS checks – which cost around £20-£40.
Salford charges £283.50 and Rotherham £226.50, both including background checks.
Local officials have also sounded the alarm about a lack of oversight when drivers operate outside their licensing area.
Bolton Councillor Ryan Bamforth warned: “At the moment we’ve got no control and no say over what’s going on in this area.
“Our council can’t do anything about a taxi driver licensed with a different authority who starts committing offences here.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has labelled the system “broken”, adding that loopholes mean “if it wasn’t Wolverhampton, it would be somewhere else”.
Sarah Champion added: “Strict licensing requirements introduced in Rotherham came about in direct response [to the scandal] in order to keep the public safe.
“That they can be so easily circumvented jeopardises public safety and damages public confidence.”
Baroness Casey’s bombshell grooming gangs report, which finally saw the light of day on June 16, recommended that the Government take “immediate action” to stop out-of-area taxis.
It said: “In some areas, especially those who have recognised problems of child sexual exploitation, local authorities go above and beyond this statutory guidance to provide additional protection for children.
“However, they are being hindered by a lack of stringency elsewhere in the country.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised that the Department for Transport would “work at pace to close loopholes in the law on taxi licensing”.
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Sarah Champion has warned that the loophole has put public safety at risk
And in Wolverhampton, the council’s Conservative opposition leader Simon Bennett has called for a full review of the council’s licensing regime.
Earlier this week, he said: “As far as I’m aware, it isn’t any easier [to get your licence here], the questions aren’t less difficult, the processes aren’t less stringent, but they are more streamlined, more efficient, and therefore you can get your application processed a lot quicker.”
“[But with Wolverhampton-licensed] drivers operating outside of the area, we have no idea what they’re doing.
“The Casey review named taxi drivers in particular as a high-risk group of people who, maybe when they’re operating outside of area, may not be behaving as they should because there’s nobody monitoring them.”