To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require more (a) frequent and (b) detailed checks on the immigration status of licenced taxi drivers.

The Government sets the regulatory structure within which local licensing authorities license the private hire vehicle (PHV) and taxi sector. The primary function of licensing authorities is to ensure that the sector is safe, including defining the criteria that must be met when deciding whether a person is 'fit and proper' to hold a licence.

The Immigration Act 2016 introduced a legal responsibility on licensing authorities not to issue licences in the PHV and taxi sector to those individuals who are disqualified from holding a licence due to their immigration status. Therefore, all licensing authorities in the UK are required to carry out right to work checks during the licence application process to ensure applicants are not disqualified from holding a licence due to their immigration status. The check must be performed when the applicant applies for a licence, or applies to renew or extend their licence, whether for the full statutory term or for a lesser period.