A Willaston councillor has called on Cheshire East leaders to safeguard women and children by lobbying for a change in the law around taxi drivers licensed elsewhere to operate in the borough.
Cllr Allen Gage (pictured) says a report published by Baroness Casey last year noted taxis being used as a conduit and method for the systemic and organised rape of young and vulnerable girls across the UK.
He, along with Cllr Reg Kain of Alsager, have tabled a notice of motion to next week’s full council meeting urging Cheshire East to write to government.
They want the authority to express concern “at the broken and haphazard nature of the current licensing rules and request they be reviewed and amended with utmost expediency to make it a legal requirement that drivers must hold a personal licence in each ‘top tier’ local authority area in which they wish to collect passengers”.
They say: “Currently, drivers licensed in one local authority can operate cross-region.
“This creates a regulatory gap and can lead to various issues including public safety.
“When applying for a Cheshire East licence, the licensing team will oversee sensible safeguarding checks and, most importantly, licensing committee members have very strong powers available to them at their discretion to remove a licence should they deem it necessary.
“This is not possible if a taxi driver is licensed by another authority.
“As one of 12 recommendations in her report, Baroness Casey called for the immediate closing of this loophole.
“Almost a year later nothing has happened.”
The two councillors say the cross-county and cross-region operation “makes a mockery of safeguarding”.
They stress their motion is not an attack on taxi drivers and it also calls on the council to “formally express and extend its thanks, gratitude and respect to each and every taxi driver operating in the borough who is licensed in the borough”.
The motion also calls on Cheshire East’s licensing committee to explore and adopt the policy of Lichfield District Council, which requires drivers licensed by another council to notify the prospective customer that the driver and/or vehicle are licensed elsewhere before the booking is confirmed.
It is expected to be referred to cabinet for debate.
The meeting of the full council takes place on Wednesday July 15th at 11am at the SKA Observatory, Jodrell Bank.
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