The Government wrote to local authorities this week urging them to consult the national taxi driver database after new figures revealed the councils who are failing to make full use of it.
The Department for Transport (DfT) advises councils to use the National Register for Refusals and Revocations (NR3) in its Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, which was published in 2020.
Responding to a question from the Conservative MP for Bolton West, Chris Green, a spokesperson for the DfT listed the five largest licensing authorities that make infrequent or no use of NR3.
The list included Birmingham City Council, which licensed 6,280 drivers up to 31 March 2022 but only carried out one NR3 search and made zero entries in 2022.
Manchester City Council licensed 5,789 drivers up to 31 March 2022 and carried out zero searches and made no entries, although it only activated its NR3 account in August 2022.
Sefton Council (5,701 drivers), Newcastle City Council (4,576), and Liverpool City Council (3,360) all carried out zero searches and made no entries.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport (DfT) said: ‘The safety of passengers using taxi and private hire vehicles is vital, which is why since 2020 Ministers have consistently urged licencing authorities to make use of the database – writing to them again on the topic as recently as this week. We will continue to keep any further potential measures under review.’
