Taxi Reform - Wales

As previously reported the Welsh Government have previously indicated a desire to reform Taxi & private hire regulation in Wales.  This led to the publication of a white paper “Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (Wales) Bill” upon which a consultation was complete in June 2023.

Although a multifaceted bill one notable aim appeared to be the end of ‘licence shopping’ where operators and drivers seek licences from Local Authorities perceived to be more liberal but operate principally in other districts.  This practice has been criticised by some Local Authorities as undermining enforcement efforts and driving down standards.  These arguments appeared to form part of the Minister’s rationale in 2023.

The Welsh Labour government ran out of legislative time in their sixth Senedd to implement the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (Wales) Bill.

On the 29^th April, MS Julie James, as Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, made a statement to the Senedd regarding the Government’s annual legislative statement and set out the final year of their legislative programme.

This statement included a reference to both the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill, which will give local authorities powers to introduce a visitor levy and restated the Welsh Government’s desire to see taxi and private hire reform in this session:

“….we will look to publish draft Bills or engage further with stakeholders this Senedd term. This includes reform of taxi and private hire vehicles, to modernise the sector and address the problems of cross-bordering.”

We will keep you updated.