Clause 44 amends the definition of ''private hire vehicle'' in section 1(1)(a) of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 by removing the words ''to the public''. The amended definition will bring within the PHV licensing regime operators and drivers who currently provide a private hire service to an identified group or organisation but not to the public at large, and who therefore do not currently require licences. The right hon. Member for East Yorkshire will know that that legislation resulted from a private Member's Bill promoted by the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young), who is not without experience in the field of transport.

The clause will eliminate the practice whereby operators and drivers evade licensing by providing a dedicated service to a specific group or organisation. That was not envisaged in the 1998 Act. I am told that in other parts of the country such people have to be fully licensed and go through all the checks; it is only in London that that does not happen. There has been concern that a number of people say that they are part of a contract to do a job, but then offer services to the wider public as well. In other words, there is abuse:   while people are saying that they are working on one type of contract, they are extending their work and carrying out other contracts.

We have to remember what these people are doing and the people whom they carry. We have heard almost exclusively about the carriage of people who are quite vulnerable: children and elderly people. The relatives of an elderly person and the parents of children have the right to expect that the people who convey them in vehicles have been properly checked. Often, the driver may be the only adult or responsible person in the vehicle. I had a bit of a heavy heart when it came to this clause, because I did not want to inhibit some amateur drivers and people who do a great deal of good work. That is a problem, but we had to weigh on the other side the abuse that is taking place, which could lead to vulnerable people being put at risk by people who have not been checked.