Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered amending the regulation of private hire vehicles.

Since coming into Government, we have been actively considering regulatory reform to support a thriving taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) sector through a modern legislative framework. Through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, we have legislated to enable the setting of national standards for taxi and PHV licensing, improving consistency and oversight across England.

As announced in the King's Speech, we intend to bring forward a draft taxi and PHV bill for pre-legislative scrutiny, providing a licensing framework that reflects how people travel today and replaces a patchwork of outdated, Victorian-era rules with a single, consistent framework across England that passengers and drivers can trust.