Andy Burnham ‘disappointed’ after ‘massively important’ taxi changes dropped by government

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Andy Burnham is ‘disappointed’ after the government dropped ‘massively important’ changes to the taxi licensing system.

The mayor has long campaigned for a ban on out-of-area taxi working, which happens when a driver licensed by one council routinely works in another part of the country. Notably, nearly half of minicabs in Greater Manchester are registered outside the city-region, with more than one in 10 English private hire taxis licensed by Wolverhampton council alone.

He hoped an amendment to the government’s Devolution Bill, tabled by Heywood and Middleton North MP Elsie Blundell, could pave the way for a ban. However, the amendment was dropped by the government, meaning an outright ban is off-the-table for now, although national minimum standards for private hire ve