NEWS that there will be legislation to bring in national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing has been welcomed by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson.

Last year he joined forces with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, to organise and Parliamentary event to launch the charity’s report on safety in taxis and generate cross-party support for the move.

He got involved after getting to know Elaine Pickford, whose daughter Sian was murdered by taxi driver Christopher Halliwell.

He held a series of meetings with the Elaine and the trust, as well as highlighting the importance of the issue with ministers from the Home Office and Department for Transport.

The report released by the trust last year highlighted concerns including taxi and private hire vehicle licences being granted to drivers with criminal convictions that include violent offences and licensing authorities failing keeping an accessible record of taxi and private hire drivers’ criminal convictions.

There were no national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing, and drivers were operating outside the area in which their license was issued, which could have lower licensing standards.

Mr Tomlinson said: “It is fantastic the Government has listened to people like Elaine and responded to our campaign.”

He stressed: "The vast majority of taxi drivers are law abiding citizens who provide a vital community service – however, there are occasions where the driver has abused the trust of a passenger. This new legislation will help improve the safety of people using taxis."

The measures announced by the Government will address these concerns by bringing forward legislation to enable enforcement and compliance checks to be conducted by any licensing officer against any vehicle regardless of where they have been licensed and introduce a national licensing database to assist the sharing of relevant information between licensing authorities.

The Government has also launched a consultation on proposed statutory guidance for taxi and PHV licensing authorities. The new guidance proposes a range of tough new rules for licensing authorities, such as enhanced criminal record checks for drivers and CCTV in cabs.