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Taxi and Private Hire Safeguarding

Written by Kyle Hughes

Multi Agency Safeguarding Learning Solution for all Licensed Taxi and Private Hire Drivers.

Situation

The ‘Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards’ report from the Department of Transport reflects the significant changes in the industry and lessons learned from experiences in local areas. There is evidence to support the view that taxis and private hire vehicles are a high-risk environment. In terms of risks to passengers, this can be seen in abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults facilitated and in some cases perpetrated by the trade and the number of sexual crimes reported which involve taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

Licensing authorities should consider the role that those in the taxi and private hire vehicle industry can play in spotting and reporting the abuse, exploitation or neglect of children and vulnerable adults. As with any group of people, it is overwhelmingly the case that those within the industry can be an asset in the detection and prevention of abuse or neglect of children and vulnerable adults. The report states that all licensing authorities should provide safeguarding advice and guidance to the trade and should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training.

In addition to this report, a recent YouGov survey indicated that the survey found two thirds - 66% - of women said they did not feel safe walking alone at night and that when hailing Taxi’s 38% of women have felt unsafe.

Solution

A large southern local authority pro-actively engaged Premier Partnership to take a multi-agency approach to ensure all licensed Taxi Drivers and Private Hire drivers operating in the city receive ‘the gold standard’ in training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to identify vulnerable adults and children and know the correct procedure to manage situations and raise concerns.

Over the course of several months Premier Partnership collaborated with multiple agencies to ensure that the training the licensees receive is of the highest standard, covers the correct content to the appropriate depth, can be instantly applied and more importantly sticks with the learners.

The learning focuses on the role which taxi and private hire drivers can play in identifying and reporting incidents relating to child abuse, child sexual exploitation, county lines, modern day slavery, physical, psychological and sexual abuse, neglect, hate crimes, conflict and mental health & wellbeing. This is all done in accordance with the localised procedures. The content is supported by learning materials to assist the learners and underpinned by assessment on all areas taught, to ensure that the learning has been understood. To reinforce the ‘gold standard’ required of the training, all delegates are required to pass the assessment with 100% to receive their licence renewal.

Next Steps

Following the design phase and two successful pilot sessions to refine the end product, Premier Partnership and the local authority licensing department are to train and assess approximately 1600 taxi and private hire drivers throughout FY 22/23.

Kyle Hughes, Premier Partnership Client Relationship Director for the authority said ‘Premier Partnership are delighted to be working with the Licensing team to ensure that the Taxi and Private Hire Drivers working in the city and surrounding areas are trained to the gold standard in this subject of the highest importance. Whilst we provide safeguarding training throughout the council, being able to design this training for the sole use of the licensees will greatly improve the impact the learners can have with children and vulnerable adults they encounter’.

As a result of the successful pilot, Premier Partnership are now offering this product across all local authorities in the UK.

For further details about the course, or to enquire about booking, please contact: amanda.kane@premier-partnership.co.uk

References:

Course Overview

Statutory & Best Practice Guidance for taxi and PHV licensing authorities (publishing.service.gov.uk)

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/utjogn9tax/BBC_WomensSafety_220211_W(1).pdf

Kyle Hughes
Client Relationship Director