Violent offenders granted taxi licences

More than 150 people convicted of violent crimes were granted taxi licences last year by City of Wolverhampton Council, data has revealed.

The city has been dubbed the UK's "taxi capital", due to the high number of licences granted by the council, with drivers often then operating elsewhere - a practice expected to be overhauled by the government.

A Freedom Of Information (FOI) request revealed 158 people were convicted of violent offences, 61 convicted of drug offences, 36 of drink offences and four of sexual offences.

The council said safeguarding was a priority and it was the only council to carry out daily DBS checks on all drivers and share data about any convictions of licensed drivers.

The FOI by The Guardian newspaper also revealed the council granted licences to 438 people with criminal convictions last year.

Those were out of the 33,893 private hire vehicles on the road in 2025, licensed by the local authority.

A separate FOI in January of this year showed 17 allegations of sexual assault or rape were reported against Wolverhampton-licensed private hire drivers over a three-month period of 2025.

Figures released in 2024, revealed up to 96% of the licences issued by the council between April 2023 and the end of March 2024 were for people living and working outside the city.

Other councils have previously voiced concerns over the licensing practices in Wolverhampton.

Responding to the the latest FOI figures, Tim Johnson, council chief executive, said: "There is nothing more important to us than the safety of passengers in cars licensed by this council.

"That's why safeguarding is such a priority for us. This is shown by the many unique and innovative measures we employ to keep people safe - including being the only council to carry out daily DBS checks on all drivers.

"In the name of public interest, we are the only council to share data about any convictions of licensed drivers and we strongly urge others to do the same."

He said the authority refused thousands of licence applications each year and each one was "scrutinised and considered on the circumstances including context of any convictions, using our detailed policy on the relevance of convictions".

"Licences are only approved if our panel - which includes a trained decision maker and solicitor - would be happy for a person they care for to travel alone in a vehicle driven by this person at any time of day or night."

The council said it followed the Department for Transport's guidance on convictions and its policy for granting taxi licences was consistent with many other authorities.

"We will continue to wholeheartedly support the government's plans to reform taxi licensing across the country," it added.

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