Mansfield Proposes DBS Checks Every Six Months for Taxi and Private Hire Drivers

Taxi and private hire drivers licensed by Mansfield District Council could face criminal-record monitoring every six months under proposed changes to the authority’s licensing policy.

The council is considering a revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy covering drivers, vehicles and operators in the Mansfield district.

One of the most significant proposed changes would increase the frequency of Disclosure and Barring Service monitoring for licensed drivers.

Mansfield’s current published guidance states that drivers’ DBS certificates are checked annually as an additional safeguarding measure.

Under the revised policy, that monitoring would instead take place every six months.

The proposal does not mean Mansfield drivers are already subject to six-monthly DBS checks. The revised policy is going through the council’s consultation and approval process before any new requirements can take effect.

DBS monitoring is used by taxi licensing authorities to help determine whether drivers continue to meet the fit-and-proper-person standard required to hold a licence.

More frequent checks can allow councils to identify relevant changes to a driver’s criminal-record status sooner than under a longer monitoring cycle.

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The revised policy also proposes changes to the way DVLA driving-licence checks are described and carried out.

The wording would be updated to reflect use of the DVLA check-code system, which allows authorised licensing officers to view relevant driving-record information through the DVLA’s online service.

Safeguarding training is another area covered by the proposed changes.

Under the revised approach, safeguarding training for licensed drivers would need to be delivered by Mansfield District Council or by a third-party provider approved by the authority.

Mansfield already requires licensed drivers to undertake safeguarding training and says the training helps drivers recognise vulnerable groups and understand how concerns should be reported.

The authority also currently requires drivers to complete annual DVLA driving-licence checks, meet Group 2 medical standards and pass a local knowledge test.

Mansfield operates a separate Regulatory Point Scheme for licensing offences and breaches of conditions.

Under that system, a licence holder receiving more than 12 regulatory points within 12 months can be referred to a licensing panel, which may issue a warning, suspend a licence or revoke it depending on the circumstances.

The proposed six-month DBS monitoring should not be confused with that penalty-points process. The DBS proposal concerns continuing safeguarding and suitability checks rather than disciplinary points.

More frequent DBS monitoring is increasingly appearing in taxi-licensing policy reviews around the country.

DM News recently reported separately that Neath Port Talbot Council is considering moving from three-yearly DBS checks to monitoring every six months as part of its own proposed licensing overhaul.

The Mansfield proposal is a separate local policy process and no final decision should be assumed until the council completes consultation and formally adopts any revised requirements.

If approved, the change would mean Mansfield-licensed taxi and private hire drivers have their DBS status reviewed twice each year rather than once annually.

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