Cabbies set to face English tests

Oct 11 2006 By David Bell, Birmingham Mail

THOUSANDS of city taxi and private hire drivers may be required to pass an English test to keep their licences.

Councillors are pressing for a new round of checks after receiving a wave of complaints from passengers who can't communicate with drivers.

Compulsory English tests for newcomers applying to join the ranks of Birmingham's 1,500 cabbies and 4,500 private hire drivers were introduced four years ago.

But they have just been toughened up after a driver who had passed them appeared at council hearings with an interpreter.

Coun Nigel Dawkins, a member of the city's licensing committee, has told his colleagues that the problem still remains.

"There are still drivers out there whose grasp of English is barely comprehensible. Recently we had one before us whose lack of English had provoked complaints from the public.

"He got his private hire licence five years ago before the test was introduced and came before us with an interpreter."

Coun Dawkins said the problem was primarily one with private hire drivers as opposed to cabbies.

He is asking the committee to check the communication skills of all drivers who were licensed before the English tests were introduced.

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