ROUND THE COUNCILS LANCASHIRE:
TAXI SAFEGUARDING STRENGTHENED
Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has brought together licensing officers from across the county for the inaugural meeting of Lancashire’s Taxi Working Group, established to share best practice and improve safeguarding in the taxi sector. The meeting follows a countywide survey which highlighted taxi safety as a significant concern for women and girls. Chaired by the Office of the PCC, the group discussed current safeguarding challenges, innovative approaches being used by local teams, engaging with the DfT through their ongoing taxi licensing consultation and opportunities for greater consistency across districts. Representatives attended from local authorities, MPs’ offices, the University of Central Lancashire, and the Chorley Taxi Association. The Working Group builds on findings from the Commissioner’s 2025 Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) survey, which gathered insights from more than 4,000 women and girls across Lancashire and identified transport as a key area of concern. The survey revealed that 43% of respondents felt unsafe travelling in a taxi at night, while 64% felt unsafe waiting at taxi ranks. Even during the day, 30% of participants reported feeling unsafe in taxis. In addition, 42% of respondents believed that statutory agencies could do more to improve safety when using taxis. Clive Grunshaw, said: “My priority as PCC is to work with partners across Lancashire to increase safety for women and girls. Driver standards in the county remain high, but we know there is more to do. My Office is committed to working with police and local authorities to ensure robust safeguarding training is in place. Unlicensed drivers continue to pose the greatest risk, and I would strongly urge the public to always check that the taxi they are using is legitimate.” “This inaugural meeting marks the first step in developing a more consistent approach across Lancashire, helping customers understand the differences between PHVs, hackney
carriages,
licensed taxis, and fraudulent drivers.” The Casey Report recently called on the Government to close the ‘out of area’ licensing loophole and improve taxi standards to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people. The Government has since accepted all 12 recommendations. Preventing violence against women and girls (VAWG)
PHTM FEBRUARY 2026 SLOUGH: PETITION AGAINST DIESEL BAN
A petition calling on Slough BC to delay the introduction of a new policy on diesel-fuelled taxis has gathered more than 1,500 signatures. Back in 2021, Slough was awarded £370,035 from the Government’s £5million Air Quality Grant. At the time, the council said this money would be invested in a project looking to accelerate the adoption of EVs by taxi drivers and private hire vehicle operators. In 2023, the council adopted a vehicle age policy to reduce air pollution whereby taxi drivers with diesel vehicles can renew their vehicle licences until the vehicle is nine years old. As part of Slough BC’s new policy tackling the issue, it said it would only issue new taxi vehicle licences for applicants with non-diesel cars. The new policy was set to be introduced on January 1. But a petition calling on the council to delay this diesel taxi cut-off was launched on November 27 and has quickly gained 1,517 signatures since then. The petition urges the council to carry out a ‘robust consultation’ before a ban can be implemented on older vehicles because Slough’s cut-off is ‘stricter and more costly’ than neighbouring local authorities. The petition added that drivers and taxi operators will be asked to ‘bear high costs’ in order to upgrade their vehicles. A council spokesperson pointed out that private hire operators are free to set their own fares and the council’s ‘alternative to diesel initiative’ will still allow taxi drivers to use petrol, hybrid or EVs. The scheme had initially been set to get underway in January 2025 but the council opted to move the start date to January 2026. The spokesperson added that the council has met with two trade reps and “discussions have been constructive and will continue in the new year.” Also the council’s petition scheme procedure will be followed in that any petition that surpasses the 1500- signature threshold will to be debated at a full council meeting.
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remains a key priority in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. Recent months have seen £177,000 of money seized from criminals invested into 38 VAWG prevention projects, alongside the launch of #GetTheMessage, a behaviour change campaign aimed at tackling so-called low-level harassment and abuse.
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