Wolverhampton handed 158 violent offenders taxi licences last year
More than 150 people convicted of violent crimes were granted taxi licences last year by Wolverhampton city council, data obtained under freedom of information laws has revealed. The West Midlands authority, widely described as the UK’s “taxi capital”, issued 438 licences to individuals with criminal convictions between April 2023 and March 2024 – far more than any other local authority in the country.
The figures show that 158 of those granted licences had been convicted of violent offences, 61 of drug offences, 36 of drink offences and four of sexual offences. The council said 16 drivers had convictions in two of the categories. The disclosures have reignited concerns about passenger safety and the patchwork of licensing standards across England, where drivers licensed in one area can legally operate in another.
Wolverhampton’s dominance of the licensing system is extraordinary. In the same 12-month period it issued more than 42,000 driver licences – compared with Birmingham and Bradford, which each issued more than 7,000, according to government data. The number of private hire vehicle (PHV) licences issued by the council has more than tripled over five years, from 11,449 in 2020 to 34,768 in 2025. In the first five months of 2024 alone, the GMB Union reported that Wolverhampton granted almost 90% of all new private hire licences for the entire Midlands region – 8,563 licences, nearly five times as many as Birmingham despite being one-fifth of its size.
Drivers licensed by Wolverhampton can use apps such as Uber and Bolt to work in other local authority areas, a practice known as “out-of-area” working. Between April 2023 and March 2024, 96% of Wolverhampton’s licensed drivers lived outside the city. In Greater Manchester, nearly half of all private hire vehicles are now licensed by authorities outside its ten councils, with more than 12,000 vehicles operating out-of-area – a sharp increase from under 7,000 in 2023. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, called the figures “truly shocking” and said they “lay bare the fundamental issue with how private hire licensing is managed in this country”. He added: “We want our taxis and private hire vehicles to be among the safest and most trusted in the country, but we can’t do this with the current broken licensing system, where local leaders have zero oversight over nearly half the PHVs on our streets.”
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which campaigns to reduce stalking and harassment, said it had been calling for consistent safeguarding standards in taxi licensing since 2014 and wants drivers to be treated as a regulated activity so that stricter background checks are compulsory. A 2024 YouGov survey commissioned by the trust found that more than 30% of respondents had felt unsafe during a taxi or private hire journey. The trust’s own research in 2024 indicated that drivers with convictions for violent offences, including sexual assault, harassment and grievous bodily harm, continued to be licensed by a sample of 28 councils, and 68 licences were granted despite traffic, driving or vehicle-related convictions.
System under scrutiny after sexual assault allegations
Concerns about safety have been amplified by a separate freedom of information request, made in January 2026, which revealed that 17 allegations of sexual assault or rape were reported against Wolverhampton-licensed private hire drivers over a three-month period in 2025. The Department for Transport’s statutory guidance is clear: anyone convicted of a sexual offence should not be granted a licence. For violent offences, the guidance states that a licence should not be granted until at least ten years have elapsed since the sentence was completed.
Wolverhampton’s extraordinary share of the market has been attributed to its interpretation of licensing laws, a streamlined digital application process and a reputation for being business-friendly. The council itself denies that it is quicker or easier to get a licence there, pointing instead to its work to digitise forms and simplify procedures. A report by its regulatory committee said the appeal to drivers lay in these efficiencies. Wolverhampton has recruited more than 40 new staff and five additional customer service officers to manage the surge in applications. The council also maintains that it is following national law, which does not allow it to impose limits on the number of PHV licences it issues, and that licensing income cannot be used for other purposes.
Other councils have responded differently. Birmingham city council said its “starting point for all convictions of this nature is to refuse the licence application”, and the onus is on the applicant to prove they are a “fit and proper person”. Bradford council said it had implemented a suitability policy with the objective of protecting the public and safeguarding children and vulnerable people. In 2018, Bradford proposed banning drivers with serious convictions for life, with specific minimum periods for licence refusal: ten years for violence, seven years for weapons, and a lifetime ban for sex offences.
Council defends rigorous checks despite criticism
In the face of mounting criticism, Wolverhampton council has mounted a detailed defence of its practices. The chief executive, Tim Johnson, said: “Safeguarding is such a priority for us. There is nothing more important to us than the safety of passengers in cars licensed by this council. We refuse thousands of licence applications each year.”
Johnson added that Wolverhampton is the only council to carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on all of its drivers and the only local authority to share data about the convictions of licensed drivers. “Licences are only approved if our panel – which includes a trained decision maker and solicitor – would be happy for a person they care for to travel alone in a vehicle driven by this person at any time of day or night,” he said. “We know that other authorities have licensed drivers with similar previous convictions.”
The council’s own policy states that all convictions are considered, particularly those with a long history or recent pattern of repeat offending. Offences of a sexual nature against any person will normally result in revocation or refusal to renew a licence. Johnson emphasised that each application is “scrutinised and considered” on the basis of local and national policies.
Uber and Bolt, whose drivers rely on licences issued by Wolverhampton, said the decision to grant a licence rests solely with the local authority and that details about a driver’s background checks are not passed on to them. Both companies said they have introduced safety tools for passengers, including providing the driver’s identity and vehicle details before a journey begins. A Bolt spokesperson added: “Bolt’s own data shows no meaningful link between where a driver is licensed and reported safety incidents.”
The government is now exploring significant reforms. A consultation launched in January 2026 proposed reducing the number of licensing authorities from 263 to 70 local transport authorities in England, simplifying the system and reducing opportunities for drivers to shop for less stringent rules. Provisions in the English Devolution Bill would allow licensing authorities to immediately suspend taxi and private hire licences issued by other councils when drivers operate in their area. The Department for Transport also plans to introduce national minimum standards for taxi and private hire licensing, ensuring all drivers are subject to robust checks regardless of where they are licensed. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has welcomed these proposals, having campaigned for decades for improved safety checks and to close loopholes that allow drivers with violent and sexual offence convictions to be licensed. Wolverhampton council, Uber and Bolt all said they supported plans to reform the system.
