TRANSPORT COMMITTEE REPORT Government Response
The Government recognises the importance of learning from all licensing authorities, including the impact of operational pressures, and system changes on licensing performance. The Department will work with Transport for London and other licensing authorities to identify and share lessons learned.
A key element of this approach will be the active sharing of best practices and practical learning across the sector. The Government considers greater collaboration between licensing authorities essential to supporting improvement, enabling authorities to benefit from proven approaches to managing demand, streamlining processes, and maintaining high safeguarding standards.
Recommendation 12
National standards should set proportionate and fair requirements for key elements of driver competence, including spoken English language proficiency and appropriate knowledge of the areas in which drivers operate.
Government Response
The Government agrees that national standards should support clear requirements for driver competence. This includes ensuring drivers can communicate effectively with passengers, understand instructions, and operate safely.
The Government intends to include areas of driver competence
within the forthcoming national
standards consultation, including consideration of English language proficiency. In doing so, the Department will have to consider established benchmarks for English language ability as well as existing requirements for other modes of public transport, such as bus and coach drivers, where communication is also essential.
In developing these proposals, particular care will be taken to ensure that any requirements do not create unnecessary barriers to entry. The Government recognises the need to strike the right balance between consistency at a national level and flexibility to reflect local circumstances.
The Department will engage closely with licensing authorities, industry representatives, passenger groups, and other stakeholders to ensure that a wide range of perspectives and evidence are considered.
PHTM NOVEMBER 2026 Recommendation 13
National standards should include mandatory disability awareness and equality training for drivers and operators, to be provided to a high minimum standard of quality, with clear refresher requirements and effective enforcement against non-compliance.
Government Response
Improving accessibility across the taxi and PHV sector is a priority for this Government, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that drivers and operators are equipped to support disabled passengers.
The Government recognises the need for disability equality awareness training to be included as part of national standards. The consultation will set out proposals for the training, and appropriate refresher requirements to
current. The Government will work
including licensing authorities, industry representatives, and disability groups, to ensure the requirements support meaningful improvements in passenger experience.
Recommendation 14
The department should publish a national plan to increase wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) provision. The plan should be underpinned by a single national WAV fleet requirement, specifying the minimum proportion of each licensing authority’s total licensed fleet that must be wheelchair accessible vehicles.
The plan should require every licensing authority to demonstrate and report progress against that requirement. While local delivery models may differ, including in rural and low-density areas, the required minimum proportion of WAVs and the standard of passenger access those vehicles must meet should be consistent nationally.
The plan should also include:
la new requirement to improve transparency, requiring all operators to publish their fleet’s provision of WAVs; and
l specific measures to improve WAV provision and provide greater incentives for drivers to use them across the country, including rural and low-density areas.
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ensure knowledge remains with stakeholders,
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