Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to introduce a limit to the number of Hackney carriage and private hire driver licences local authorities can issue.

Andrew Jones

Under section 16 of the Transport Act 1985 local licensing authorities outside of London have the power to limit the number of licensed Hackney carriages if they are satisfied that there is no significant demand for the services of Hackney carriages (within the area to which the licence would apply) which is unmet. There are no powers to restrict the number of Hackney carriages in London or private hire vehicles in or outside of London and the Government has no plans to introduce any such legislation at this time.