
Working alongside partners including West Midlands Police, the Home Office Immigration Team, NHS colleagues and Community Protection officers, licensing teams carried out checks on licensed vehicles, visited licensed premises and undertook targeted enforcement operations throughout the week.
One of the largest operations in the week saw Licensing, Community Protection, Wolverhampton Police and Walsall Council’s MOT testing team inspect 12 licensed vehicles (3 hackney carriage and 9 private hire vehicles) during an evening enforcement exercise.
Five vehicles were suspended after concerns were identified including expired MOT and vehicle parts which were unsafe due to damage.
Licensing and Community Protection officers also carried out proactive checks on Hackney Carriage vehicles operating in Walsall town centre, resulting in one suspension following no tariff card displayed in vehicle.
A further operation at Walsall Manor Hospital focused on services provided to wheelchair users and passengers travelling with assistance dogs. Twenty-four licensed vehicles were inspected, with a number of issues rectified including identification badges not on show.
Councillor Ian Benton, Portfolio Holder for Street Scene and Enforcement said: “These exercises help ensure high standards are maintained, protect public safety and provide reassurance that action will be taken where issues are identified."

The bridge has reportedly become a hotspot for private hire vehicles stopping to collect passengers, particularly late-night crowds leaving the nearby Charters Bar.

Brighton and Hove City Council has backed down and agreed to reinstate regular licensing updates following fierce complaints from opposition councillors who claimed they were being kept completely in the dark.

Local cabbies claim that the city's streets have become too difficult to navigate, causing both shoppers and companies to abandon the area in favour of online shopping or neighbouring cities.

Amber Valley Borough Council has recently relocated its hackney carriage and private hire vehicle testing centre to a garage in Sheffield, around 25 miles outside the licensing area

The acquisition represents a significant milestone for both companies and marks the latest stage in Express Taxis' continued expansion across the county.

While a recent 12-week public consultation revealed cabbies are divided on if CCTV should be legally required, there is overwhelming consensus that the cameras keeps everyone secure.

One angry driver told PHTM: "We're protesting because some drivers have been charged more than £300 for just one week's commission - we used to pay £120-£140 a week.

The drivers all held hackney carriage licences issued by Manchester City Council, which meant they were not legally allowed to pick up unbooked passengers within the Trafford area. 

The review is part of a regular process required to have a new fare structure officially in place by October 22.

Peter King groomed his victims in the 1990s and 2000s when they were as young as nine and 11, using day trips, clothes, and food to lure them to his Highgate flat. 

The operator first came to the attention of authorities after advertising fares on social media. 

Diwan Khan, who was jailed for 12 years in April for raping an unconscious 15-year-old girl in his car, held a taxi driver licence issued by Bracknell Forest Council between January 2021 and January 2024.

Sam Hodkinson, 23, was travelling down Blackburn Road in Egerton when the branch suddenly crushed the vehicle, prompting emergency services to temporarily close the road near Higher Dunscar.

The decisions, made during a meeting on June 16, mark a departure from standard licensing policies due to what councillors described as exceptional circumstances beyond the drivers' control.

Damian Watson, 36, was driving a white Mercedes van in Anfield in April this year when he picked up a woman who had mistakenly believed he was the Uber driver she had ordered on her phone.

Running from Friday, June 26 until midday on Friday, August 7, the council is actively seeking feedback from drivers, operators, passengers, and residents on the draft policy.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue were called by the police to assist with the vehicle, which had landed in shallow water.

The claimants allege that Uber obtained and operated under its TfL licence unlawfully between 2012 and March 2018, stripping licensed cabbies of millions of pounds in earnings.

The Highland Council is rushing to revisit a highly controversial decision that allowed convicted rapist David Brown to keep his operator's licence, despite him recently being sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.

Irfan Sarwar had initially kept the cash at his luxury home in the Robroyston area of Glasgow before being intercepted by police during a targeted surveillance operation in Maryhill.
