Welsh Government remains committed to taxi & private hire reform

Julie James MS, Counsel General and Welsh Minister for Delivery, has confirmed that the Welsh Government remains committed to licensing reform.

On 29 April 2025, an oral statement was made in the Senedd on its Legislative Programme.  In that statement, Ms James said:

“There are a number of other areas where we remain committed to developing legislation in the future and where we will look to publish draft Bills or engage further with stakeholders this Senedd term. This includes reform of taxi and private hire vehicles, to modernise the sector and address the problems of cross-bordering.”

She continued:

“We just couldn’t do it in the last year; there just wasn’t the time. And that is actually the same for the taxi Bill as well, so we will get the draft Bill ready, but we just ran out of time in terms of getting it through the scrutiny processes and stuff. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have some things on the stocks for the seventh Senedd that are not controversial, ready to go. The new Government will have something to cut its teeth on and we can—you know, we’ll start in good stead. So, it’s not where I would have liked to have been, but it’s not the worst possible scenario.”

In 2023 the Welsh Government published it Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (Wales) Bill white paper.

The white paper set out proposals for legislation to “modernise the taxi and PHV sector and address the problems of cross bordering” including:

• fit for a modern Wales
• promotes safety for passengers and drivers
• contributes to a cleaner environment
• improves the customer experience and is
• accessible by all.