To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What recent steps her Department has taken to ensure consistency in local authorities' taxi license-issuing regimes.

The Department for Transport issues guidance to licensing authorities in England to help them regulate the sector. One of the aims of the guidance is to improve consistency in the licensing standards required by licensing authorities. Statutory guidance was issued in 2020 on measures that should be taken to protect children and vulnerable adults, and by extension all passengers, when using these services. Last year the Department issued updated best practice guidance which made recommendations to promote regulation that enables the provision of safe, accessible, available, and affordable services that meet the wide range of passenger needs by a thriving sector.