Transport Committee confirms first taxi & private hire panel for Wednesday 15 October

MPs on the Transport Committee will open their inquiry into taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing with a driver-focused evidence session on Wednesday 15 October 2025 at 9:15am in Room 16, Palace of Westminster.

Who’s giving evidence (Panel 1 – drivers & trade bodies)

David Lawrie — National Private Hire & Taxi Association (NPHTA)
Eamon O’Hearn — GMB
Andy Mahoney MBE — Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA)
Paul James — Unite Taxi Education Liverpool

A second panel from 10:15am will hear from regulators and licensing authorities, including Transport for London, City of Wolverhampton Council, and Blackpool Council.

What MPs will explore

The Committee has signalled that the first session will centre on the lived experience of drivers, with emphasis on:

Working conditions & wellbeing — long hours, income volatility and pressures from platform-based models.
Safeguarding & driver safety — preventing abuse, consistent reporting routes, and clarity over the roles of operators, licensing authorities and the police.
Complaints & CCTV — whether in-vehicle CCTV should be mandatory nationally and how complaints work when drivers operate across multiple areas.
Licensing variation & cross-border working — the impact of differing local standards on livelihoods and public confidence; options such as national minimum standards or geo-fencing.
Employment protections — what has (and hasn’t) changed since the 2021 Supreme Court ruling concerning platform workers.
Fitness of the law — whether the 1847 and 1976 Acts remain suitable in an app-based market, and what a modernised framework could look like.
Future reform — including the continued suitability of the “triple-lock” (driver, vehicle and operator licensed by the same authority).

Why this session matters

This opening panel will help MPs prioritise reforms to improve safety, consistency and accountability across the sector. Evidence on cross-border working, fragmented local rules, and gaps in complaints handling is expected to shape the Committee’s recommendations as the inquiry progresses.

Thanks for visiting DM News! If you’ve got a question, story, or anything you’d like to say, head over to DriverMatty.com — I’d love to hear from you! And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out my other websites and social media channels.