Commissioner convenes partners to strengthen taxi safeguarding across Lancashire

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has brought together licensing officers from across the county for the inaugural meeting of Lancashire’s Taxi Working Group, established to share best practice and improve safeguarding in the taxi sector. The meeting follows a countywide survey which highlighted taxi safety as a significant concern for women and girls.

Chaired by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, the group discussed current safeguarding challenges, innovative approaches being used by local teams, engaging with the Department for Transport through their ongoing taxi licensing consultation and opportunities for greater consistency across districts. Representatives attended from local authorities, MPs’ offices, the University of Central Lancashire, and the Chorley Taxi Association.

The Working Group builds on findings from the Commissioner’s 2025 Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) survey, which gathered insights from more than 4,000 women and girls across Lancashire and identified transport as a key area of concern.

The survey revealed that 43% of respondents felt unsafe travelling in a taxi at night, while 64% felt unsafe waiting at taxi ranks. Even during the day, 30% of participants reported feeling unsafe in taxis.  In addition, 42% of respondents believed that statutory agencies could do more to improve safety when using taxis.

Clive Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, said:

“My priority as Police and Crime Commissioner is to work with partners across Lancashire to increase safety for women and girls. Driver standards in the county remain high, but we know there is more to do. My Office is committed to working with police and local authorities to ensure robust safeguarding training is in place. Unlicensed drivers continue to pose the greatest risk, and I would strongly urge the public to always check that the taxi they are using is legitimate.”

“This inaugural meeting marks the first step in developing a more consistent approach across Lancashire, helping customers understand the differences between private hire vehicles, hackney carriages, licensed taxis, and fraudulent drivers.”

The Casey Report recently called on the Government to close the ‘out of area’ licensing loophole and improve taxi standards to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people. The Government has since accepted all 12 recommendations.

Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls remains a key priority in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. Recent months have seen £177,000 of money seized from criminals invested into 38 VAWG prevention projects, alongside the launch of #GetTheMessage, a behaviour change campaign aimed at tackling so-called low-level harassment and abuse.