§ Dr. WhiteheadTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what discussions have been held between his Department and local authority licensing departments on the licensing of vehicles for private hire where the construction of the vehicle allows for the potential carriage of more than eight passengers; [77673]
(2) how many prosecutions of operators of licensed private hire vehicles for operating vehicles with the potential to carry more than eight passengers where those vehicles have previously been licensed by a local authority taxi licensing department have been undertaken in the last year. [77678]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe law defines private hire vehicles as vehicles constructed or adapted to carry fewer than nine passengers. Consequently, it is not possible for a local licensing authority to license as a private hire vehicle any vehicle which can carry more than eight passengers. I am not aware of any particular case where a licensing authority has licensed as a private hire vehicle a vehicle with a passenger-carrying capacity in excess of eight and I am, thus, not aware of any prosecutions arising from such a situation.