Bolton Council's executive member for licensing has raised concerns about the number of taxis in the borough which were licensed by Wolverhampton.

The number of vehicles in the town who received their licence from the authority in the Midlands has long been a source of concern.

Cllr Sue Haworth, the executive member for licensing, has said the public was reliant on Wolverhampton Council acting on reports of wrongdoing.

She said: “There are many Wolverhampton licensed private hire taxis working from operators here in the borough.

“My main concern is that whilst Bolton licensing officers can pull up these drivers and vehicles out on the streets, as they do Bolton licensed private hire drivers and vehicles, the public here are then entirely reliant on Wolverhampton licensing authority, receiving reports sent in about their taxi drivers and their licensed vehicles, and then acting on the reports.

“The likelihood of them acting on very serious misdemeanours is high but of other matters such as any public complaints, dirty or poor quality interiors, smoke-filled taxi, incorrect display of ID, issues that do really matter, are Wolverhampton dealing with all of those reports about their drivers who are working hundreds of miles away from the office?

“‘The question so many people ask me is ‘Why aren’t Wolverhampton Council coming to Bolton and doing checks on their drivers?’ “In a nutshell, this is why Transport for Greater Manchester want this deregulation system ended.”

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She also expressed concern about the volume of Wolverhampton taxis.

She said: “Reports that Wolverhampton licensing authority registered around a third of all of England’s taxi drivers in 2023, a trend that continues, and is the result of the former Conservative governments deregulation of taxi licensing in our country.

"Before Labour formed the new government in July, Louise Haigh MP the now Secretary of State for Transport announced that this deregulation would be rectified by a Labour government."

Wolverhampton Council has confirmed it has 42,622 currently licenced drivers.

Last year the council issued 14,953 private hire driver licences and renewed 6,213.

The driver training programme has a pass mark of 75 per cent with 28 questions and 21 being the pass mark.

Vehicles have an age limit of 12 except for zero and ultra low emission vehicles which do not have an age limit.

The council also refuted the suggestion that they have low standards and said they had done checks on their vehicles in Bolton.

A spokesperson said: “City of Wolverhampton Council would refute that it has lax standards.

“Public safety is of paramount importance to us. Partnership working with our licensing colleagues and other agencies shows our commitment to upholding our responsibilities; we expect drivers and vehicles licensed by us to always maintain the highest standards.

“We are not aware of any other council which checks its driver’s DBS certificates every day. Our stringent standards are outlined in our Taxi Licensing Safeguarding Statement.

“Since 2022, the council has undertaken 18 compliance operations in Bolton and checked 219 vehicles, with all vehicles found to be safe and no suspension issues.”