Taxi licensing powers should be devolved to mayoral combined authorities, Andy Burnham says

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has called for taxi licensing powers to be handed to Mayoral Combined Authorities in an effort to reform what he described as a "broken licensing" system.

Andy Burnham said the reforms - which also include a call to "put an end" to 'out of area' drivers - could be packaged in the Government's forthcoming English Devolution Bill.

According to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, almost half (49%) of taxis operating in Manchester have been licensed by councils outside of the city.

The combined authority said that the current flexibility in licensing laws which mean vehicle owners are not required to obtain a licence from the local authority where they operate has "severed" the link between taxi drivers and local communities and impacted public safety.

Mayor Burnham claimed that the law change would improve standards, and better support the livelihoods of Greater Manchester’s taxi drivers through control of numbers and better incentivisation.

He said that the change would allow for swifter investigation into incidents and collisions where a taxi is involved due to a clearer link between Greater Manchester Police and licensing authorities.

The call comes as figures show that more than 11% of England’s private hire vehicles are licensed by one local authority, City of Wolverhampton Council, up from below 0.5% less than a decade ago.

The Government said it recognised concerns about out-of-area working in its English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024, and pledged to consult on whether to make all local transport authorities (including Strategic Authorities) responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

"Administering taxi and private hire vehicle licensing across this larger footprint would increase the consistency of standards and enable more effective use of enforcement powers across a whole functional economic area", the white paper said.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “We want our taxi fleet to be amongst the safest and most trusted in the country. But we can’t do this with the current broken licensing system.

"Local leaders have zero oversight over nearly half the private hire vehicles on our streets, with no relationship with the drivers, no levers to enforce the standards we want and no control over the numbers of taxis serving our communities."

He added: "We want to guarantee our residents that if they’re getting in a Greater Manchester taxi – no matter how they book it – it’s one that meets high standards we expect across all public transport.

"To do that, we need national change in the English Devolution Bill to both devolve taxi powers to city-regions and stop the ability for vehicles and drivers licensed in non-GM authorities to operate here."

Mayor Burnham has launched a 12-week "engagement" with the taxi trade as part of a review of Greater Manchester’s current approach to licensing.

The review will include discussions on process efficiency, standards, financial incentives, and license conditions, such as requirements for vehicles to be serviced at specific garages.

Adam Carey