Unite the Union has warned that there has been no progress made in stopping cross border taxi hiring in the last year.

According to the trade union, the Government has ‘still done nothing’ about the issue, despite a year having passed since the Casey Report found that women and children are made vulnerable by the licensing loophole.

While the report highlighted that the ‘out of area’ licensing problem required urgent reform, Unite has expressed fears that the Department for Transport (DfT) has ‘watered down’ its plans to address the issue.

Unite has said that safety standards can only be changed through the introduction of a start or finish rule, which would mandate that each private hire journey begins or ends in the licensed area of the driver.

However, the union has emphasised that this ‘key demand’ has not been met, with the DfT having confirmed that it will not bring in the rule.

Furthermore, the Transport Select Committee’s report from last week has been faulted by the union, which has argued that it neglected to ‘include measures that meaningfully end out of area working’.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘The Government must stop offering weak alternatives and deliver real protections for passengers and drivers.’

She added: ‘Both the transport secretary and the transport select committee are full of platitudes about stopping out of area working. But Unite is yet to see plans for a start or finish rule that would do that.’

Unite national officer for passenger transport Wayne King added: ‘It is shameful that the Government has failed to implement a key recommendation of the Casey Report, leaving children vulnerable to sexual exploitation and trafficking.

‘By implementing a start or finish rule Heidi Alexander has the opportunity to protect young people from criminal gangs out to abuse them. This is the only way to implement the Casey report’s recommendations and reverse the race to the bottom on passenger safety.’

A DfT spokesperson said: ‘We completely reject these claims. We’re directly acting on Baroness Casey’s recommendations - introducing robust national standards in licensing and giving authorities new powers to crack down on dangerous vehicles and drivers wherever they operate.

‘We’re determined to further boost passenger safety by modernising taxi and private hire vehicle laws, and will be publishing draft legislation, so people feel safe wherever they live, work or travel.’