
Asylum seekers will be banned from using taxis for most medical journeys, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced.
Under the new rules, taxi use for medical travel will be restricted to "exceptional" cases such as physical disability, pregnancy or serious illness - and these will require government approval.
Ms Mahmood made the announcement after a BBC investigation found "widespread" use of taxis by asylum seekers, including for long journeys - with one case involving a 250-mile trip to see a GP.
According to reports, transport for asylum seekers has cost the government an average of almost £16m a year.
All service providers will be required to stop using taxis for medical journeys from February next year and the government is now working to help introduce alternatives such as public transport.
"This government inherited Conservative contracts that are wasting billions of taxpayers' hard-earned cash," the home secretary said.
"I am ending the unrestricted use of taxis by asylum seekers for hospital appointments, authorising them only in the most exceptional circumstances."
Cabbies say the system was open to "abuse", accusing sub-contractors of inflating mileage, for instance by dispatching drivers over long distances to perform much shorter journeys.
One told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he had been dispatched from Gatwick to take an asylum seeker more than 50 miles away in Reading to an appointment only 1.5 miles from his hotel. A second driver was reportedly sent from Heathrow, about 30 miles away, to bring the same man back from the appointment.

The West Sussex airport has defended the decision, citing a significant rise in its operating costs, specifically pointing to an increase in business rates levied by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Sheffield council is set to trial a change to the road layout outside the station in a bid to alleviate “heavy congestion” and resolve longstanding conflicts between taxis and private vehicles.

The Regulatory and General Purposes Committee approved the proposal, put forward by Unite the Union, at a meeting on December 10, despite having received four objections from the public .

Newcastle City Council recently announced that applications for Clean Air Zone (CAZ) upgrade grants, worth up to £16,000, will close on January 30. 

The enforcement action, codenamed Operation Beccles, was carried out on 5 December by the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Licensing Team with colleagues from Swansea Council taxi licensing team.

Year 11 of doing his annual toy appeal to help less fortunate local kids get a present on Christmas Day.

The council’s independent, quasi-judicial Licensing Sub-Committee will determine an application from Uber Britannia Limited for a Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) Operator’s Licence.

The demonstration aims to ensure the draft legislation, which would drastically reduce VTC licences from 900 to around 300, is passed in its current strict form.

The joint initiative, involving Peterborough Positive, Peterborough City Council, and Light Project Peterborough, aims to provide immediate medical welfare and ensure safe travel home for revellers.

The incident occurred around 11.10 pm on October 11 on Liverpool Road.

Taxi drivers operating at Norwich station car park are reporting they have been wrongfully issued £100 fines by NCP, despite only spending brief periods dropping off or picking up customers.

The kiosks, set for a broader rollout at hotels, ports, and international airports, are specifically designed to serve international visitors arriving without local U.S. mobile data plans.

The incident has led the operator, Hello, to immediately halt its robotaxi service in the city as authorities investigate.

The initiative, which costs £3,800 and is partly funded by the Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner's Safer Town Centres Grant Scheme, commenced on 5 December.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, witnesses argued that while councils are committed to helping children entitled to support, the service does not need to be “a door-to-door taxi service.”

Several taxi drivers in Cornwall have had their licences revoked or refused following serious misconduct, including being arrested for driving on cocaine and then smashing into cars.

The proposal, to be considered by the regulatory committee, would see day rates increase by as much as 13% for longer journeys and a 13% increase for one-mile journeys at Christmas and New Year.

The council’s general purposes board is due to consider the report on December 10, which confirms that representatives of the taxi trade "have now been requested to submit their views.

An "explosive" new report lays bare the "serious safety concerns" of the UK's "outdated and poorly regulated number plate system," warning it enables criminals to operate undetected.

David Harrison, from Bilston, is accused of killing 39-year-old Mr. Khan. The victim "was shot outside his Tudor Street home at 9.25pm on March 3, 2008, and later died at hospital."
