Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her timetable is for the implementation of national taxi standards across England.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, seeks to provide a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations requirements that must be met for any taxi or private hire vehicle licence to be issued and held.

If passed, we are committed to using the powers to set the standards as quickly as possible. As this will be the first time that mandatory standards in taxi and private hire vehicle licensing have been set, it is vital that sufficient time is taken to get them right to provide certainty and stability for passengers and the trades.