After decades of campaigning, it’s finally happened. On 1 May 2026, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill received Royal Assent and officially became law, bringing with it new powers that will allow the government to introduce national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers, vehicles and operators across England for the very first time.
It might not sound like the most glamorous piece of legislation, but for anyone working in the trade — or getting into a cab — this is genuinely significant. Right now, taxi and PHV licensing is managed by 263 separate local authorities, each with their own rules, their own vetting processes, and their own standards. That patchwork system has existed in various forms since the Town Police Clauses Act of 1847. What’s now been passed sets the groundwork to replace it with a single national baseline that every driver, vehicle and operator in England will have to meet.
The push for change accelerated sharply following Baroness Casey’s audit into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, published in June 2025, which made 12 recommendations for government — including direct action on the inconsistency of taxi and PHV licensing. Ministers moved quickly, tabling an amendment to the Bill in November 2025, and it has now cleared Parliament and received Royal Assent.
So what does it actually mean in practice? The new Act gives the government the power to set national licensing standards for taxis and PHVs, ensuring that all licence holders are subject to the same set of requirements on safety and accessibility, regardless of which local authority they applied to. Crucially, enforcement officers will now be able to take action against drivers operating unsafely outside the area where they were originally licensed — closing a long-standing loophole that has allowed some drivers to be licensed in one area while working almost entirely in another.
It’s important to note that the detail of exactly what the national standards will require hasn’t been confirmed yet. The government has been clear that the standards will be subject to consultation, with passenger safety and accessibility expected to sit at the core. The law passed on 1 May gives the Transport Secretary the power to introduce those standards — but the specifics are still to be worked out. So while this is a landmark moment, there is still work to do before drivers and operators know exactly what will be required of them.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which has campaigned on this issue for decades, described it as a “momentous milestone.” The organisation welcomed the stronger enforcement powers and the data-sharing provisions in particular, though was clear that legislation alone isn’t enough — implementation will be everything.
One of the most contentious issues running alongside this new law is cross-border licensing, where drivers obtain a licence from one authority at lower cost and then operate almost entirely in another area. The government has already consulted on reducing the number of licensing authorities from 263 down to 70 Local Transport Authorities, which would go further in closing that loophole and making enforcement far more practical.
For the vast majority of drivers who already operate professionally and responsibly, the day-to-day impact remains to be seen until the consultation process concludes. But for passengers, the direction of travel is clear — wherever you get into a licensed vehicle in England, the aim is that the driver behind the wheel will eventually be vetted to the same standard.
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Sources
English Devolution Bill Receives Royal Assent — GOV.UK
Transport at the Heart of New Devolution Law — Safer Highways
New Law Paves the Way for National Minimum Standards — Suzy Lamplugh Trust via Womensgrid
New National Standards on Taxi Licensing Proposed to Protect Passengers — GOV.UK
What’s Changed? The Devolution Bill Amendments in Full — TaxiPoint
