Home Secretary marks one year of progress on Casey recommendations

The Government has marked one year since the publication of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group‑based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, setting out how departments have acted on its recommendations. In the update, the Secretary of State placed particular emphasis on reforms to taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing, an area Casey identified as a persistent national vulnerability.

The statement reiterates that Casey’s audit exposed long‑standing weaknesses in local safeguarding systems, including inconsistent licensing standards, fragmented regulation and enforcement gaps that offenders were able to exploit. Ministers say the past year has been focused on closing those gaps and creating a more coherent national framework.

A central milestone is the introduction of national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing, enabled through new powers in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026. These standards will apply across England and are designed to ensure that every licensing authority operates to the same baseline on driver vetting, vehicle safety and operator oversight. The Department for Transport will consult on the detailed standards later this year, with the Government describing them as a “direct response” to Casey’s findings.

The Government also highlighted new measures to strengthen enforcement, particularly around cross‑border working, where drivers licensed in one area operate extensively in another. Casey warned that this loophole had been exploited in several high‑profile cases. Ministers say the new powers will allow licensing authorities to take immediate action where there is an urgent safeguarding risk, regardless of where a vehicle or driver is licensed. This is intended to give councils clearer authority to intervene quickly when intelligence suggests a threat to children or vulnerable passengers.

Looking ahead, the Secretary of State confirmed that wider modernisation is planned through the forthcoming draft Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Bill, announced in the King’s Speech. The draft legislation is expected to introduce a national licensing database, stronger enforcement powers, and rules requiring drivers and operators to be licensed where they intend to work. These reforms are framed as the most significant update to taxi legislation in decades and a key part of the Government’s response to Casey’s audit.