Department for Transport written question – answered at on 12 March 2026.
Joe Robertson
Conservative, Isle of Wight East
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government will establish a national database of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle drivers accessible to licensing authorities.
Lilian Greenwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Since 2023 all licensing authorities have been required to use a national licensing database to facilitate the sharing of information when a taxi or private hire vehicle driver has had a licence refused, suspended or revoked on the grounds of safeguarding, road safety or equality discrimination concerns. The Department for Transport is considering options to reform the regulation of the sector, and as part of this intends to have a national licensing database with the details of every driver, vehicle and private hire vehicle operator licence.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.