I join Mr. Binley in welcoming you to your new position, Mr. Speaker. We both look forward to catching your eye on many occasions in the future.

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for initiating the annual event at which he rightly holds the Government to account on the serious issue of what we are doing about the safety of taxi drivers. I think it important for him to do so. I read the Hansard report of last year's debate on the subject, and I have news of some of the progress that we have made over the past 12 months. In preparation for the debate, I not only did the usual things such as speaking to officials but read a couple of editions of Private Hire and Taxi Monthly, which includes a section in which victims of the assaults referred to by the hon. Gentleman describe what happened to them.

The debate is of interest not only to people who work as taxi and private hire vehicle drivers, but to all who are concerned with the safety of people who work in the transport sector. It is truly appalling that drivers who are, after all, providing a service for the public should be fearful about the prospect of getting through the working day unscathed, or, worse still, should have to endure abuse or violence. That is why we are keen to do what we can to help. I hope that once the hon. Gentleman has heard what I have to say about the progress made last year he will, with renewed vigour, ensure that this is an annual event, so that he can take us to task and make us go even further.

We have now published the findings of our national research on the personal security of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers. Reading the Hansard report of last year's debate, I noted the frustration that the hon. Gentleman experienced in trying simply to obtain an executive summary of the research. It was particularly depressing to note from that research that Asian and other ethnic-minority drivers appear to have been subject to higher levels of abuse, much of which is racist in content. It was equally depressing to note that very few such incidents are reported to the police. I shall say more about that later, but let me now pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for highlighting the fact that a disproportionate number of victims are from ethnic minorities. There is no reason at all why they should suffer more than anyone else. No one should suffer as a result of crime, irrespective of ethnicity or faith.

Although the report has assisted our understanding of the issues, we have also undertaken a constructive initiative to help taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to enhance their own personal security. We have prepared and published guidance for drivers, in a convenient leaflet form, on measures that they can take in order to stay safe. In recognition of the differences between the trades, we published two separate leaflets, one for taxi drivers and one for private hire vehicle drivers. We distributed many thousands of copies through local licensing authorities to ensure that every taxi and PHV driver in the country could have one.

The principle underlying the leaflets is that those who serve the travelling public are entitled to do their work in safety and without abuse. The leaflets include practical advice on how to reduce the risk of violence, and also identify action that should be taken to deal with threatening behaviour and attacks. They were drawn up with the help of the taxi and private hire vehicle trades. That is an example of our consulting rather than imposing our own ideas and solutions. We have also published guidance for crime and disorder reduction partnerships on ways in which they can work with the transport industry—including the taxi and private hire vehicle trades—to help to reduce crime and the fear of crime. That includes attempting to reduce the number of assaults on taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

The best practice guidance that the Department produces on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing is a useful tool in assisting local licensing authorities in drawing up suitable licensing policies. The hon. Gentleman referred to some initiatives, including the installation in cabs of measures to improve drivers' personal security, such as CCTV or having a screen between the driver and the passenger. The guidance urged local authorities to look into that, which is why I was surprised that the hon. Gentleman mentioned an example of a council discouraging it, and I want to investigate that and write to him about it.

We are now consulting on a revised version of the guidance. We propose that it should encourage local licensing authorities to draw up signs or notices that drivers could display in their cabs setting out what passengers can expect from drivers and what drivers should be able to expect from passengers. That is a new initiative, which we hope will appeal to local licensing authorities—and to such an extent that they will want to produce their own notices in consultation with the local trade.

We know that fare disputes are a major cause of potential confrontation between passengers and drivers—a reading of the trade journals highlights that. We would hope that the advice in the leaflets, together with any local notices that licensing authorities decide to produce, will lead to a reduction in the number of such disputes. On the subject of fares, the hon. Gentleman will be pleased to learn that we are in discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers on ways to raise awareness of the legal position on "bilking"—the commonly used term for passengers making off without paying their fare. As a number of the hon. Gentleman's friends are taxi drivers, he will know that that is a big issue in the industry, and a source of huge tension. We hope ACPO will be able to help in this area.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will agree that we have taken a number of actions to reduce the number of assaults on taxi and private hire vehicle drivers. However, we are not complacent, which is why it is important that he continues to hold us to account. We know that far too many drivers are still putting up with verbal, and, indeed, physical, abuse far too often—let alone the murders to which the hon. Gentleman has referred.

I believe that the key to reducing the number of assaults is effective partnership-working at local level. The taxi and private hire vehicle trades need to work with the local police, licensing authorities and community safety partnerships to highlight their concerns and to seek suitable solutions. That may lead to the funding of in-car CCTV cameras, for example, or shields between the driver and the passenger compartment, or to the deployment of taxi marshals at taxi rank hot spots. I know that Northampton has taxi marshals, so the hon. Gentleman will be aware of that.

I know that there are a number of such initiatives around the country, and I urge the trade to learn the lessons from the good practice that already exists, and also to be aware of the potential sources of funding for security measures. That could be local authority funding, community safety partnership funding or even—the hon. Gentleman will enjoy this—EU funding. We must not cut off any funding routes.

It should be borne in mind that the sort of measures that would enhance drivers' personal security might also have a beneficial effect on passenger safety. For example, a lone female at a city centre taxi rank in the early hours of the morning might appreciate the role of a taxi marshal in maintaining order at the rank, and the use of CCTV and security shields in saloon car taxis and private hire vehicles might provide passengers with an added degree of reassurance—a point made by the hon. Gentleman in his excellent speech.

I reiterate what I said in last year's Adjournment debate about violence against taxi and private hire vehicle drivers: those in that trade should report all incidents to the police and the appropriate local community safety forums. The report that I mentioned earlier made it clear that many incidents go unreported to the police, and that is a tremendous shame. I recognise that reporting incidents means time away from work, and some may fear reprisals, but non-reporting also means that the police can be unaware of the type and scale of the problems that drivers face. I accept that the police need to redouble their efforts to win the trust and confidence of taxi drivers, as they have done in other areas of our society, so that more crime is reported.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that progress has been made since last year, but that there is no magic silver bullet or panacea that will solve these problems. It is a terrible shame that we live in a society in which people still think that they can abuse taxi drivers verbally or physically and get away without sanction from the criminal justice system. We look forward to working further with the trade, the police, local licensing authorities, the Home Office and the hon. Gentleman to ensure that we can find solutions to some of the challenges that he poses. I again congratulate him and thank him for raising these important issues.

Question put and agreed to.

House adjourned.