What action has the Minister taken to encourage local authorities to support taxi drivers in light of the finding that men working as drivers have one of the highest rates of death involving coronavirus?
The Welsh Government recognises the challenging circumstances in which taxi and private hire vehicles are currently operating and ensuring the safety of both drivers and passengers remains a priority. We have been in discussion with Shared Regulatory Services, the WLGA and the All Wales Licensing Expert Panel with regards to finding solutions to the taxi and private hire vehicle licence problems arising from the Covid 19 pandemic.
We have issued advice for the taxi and private hire vehicle trade which included the measures that could be considered to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers. This advice was also issued to local authorities and has recently been amended to reflect updated advice from the Department for Transport on the installation of safety screens in vehicles:
However, it should be noted that the Welsh Government has no direction powers with regards to Taxis and PHV, under the new emergency legislation or existing taxi/PHV legislation. The current legislation (that applies to England and Wales) dictates that the decision to licence a driver, vehicle, or operator lies with the local authority. Whilst we can encourage local authorities to follow our advice, it is therefore a matter for the licensing authority to be satisfied that licensed drivers, operators and vehicles are safe to be licensed