Post published on February 12, 2026.

Licensing officers have been suspended and are currently being investigated for failing to carry out proper licensing checks on taxi and private hire drivers.

In a story that has been widely reported, two licensing officers from South Ribble Council have been suspended for allegedly failing to do proper background checks on up to 44 drivers before they were issued with driver licences.

It has been reported that some of the drivers have gone on to commit sexual offences with victims as young as 5 years old.

The allegations have emerged following an interim report conducted by South Ribble Council. The report, instigated under the instruction of the Cabinet Office, apparently records that licensing officers tasked with investigating the alleged abuses failed to take action after the issue came to light.

According to reports in the press, the report details one occasion whereby a five-year-old was reportedly sexually assaulted by a taxi driver. The report states: “The driver was arrested for a sexual offence against a primary school age girl. The CPS decided not to proceed with prosecution against the driver because of potential difficulties in such a young witness giving evidence. However, police have been clear that they consider the driver did commit the offence. It is reasonable to assume the driver poses a safeguarding risk.” However, despite these serious concerns the driver was allegedly allowed to keep his licence for several more months.

A spokesperson for South Ribble Borough Council said: “We are currently investigating a number of issues within the licensing section. The council takes matters of public safety extremely seriously and we are currently undertaking a full review of all taxi licenses, including drivers and vehicles.

“Where issues have been highlighted, these have been rectified without incident. Two licensing officers are currently suspended subject to ongoing disciplinary proceedings. We continue to operate a full licensing service in the meantime. An investigation is ongoing and will be published in due course.”

Matthew Tomlinson, South Ribble councillor and Lancashire County Council and Cabinet member for Children, Young People and Schools told New Day: “If something goes wrong with regard to child safeguarding you should throw the doors open and say ‘My God, this is terrible’ and ‘We need help’, but this looks as if the council has tried to bury it for as long as it possibly could. Trying to cover the initial issue is what gets you in a mess.

“We all must look at what’s happened in other places like Rotherham and be vigilant that it’s not happening on our doorstep, but it appears South Ribble has failed in that respect.”