The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) has called for the Mayor of London to immediately suspend the requirement for private hire drivers to undertake English language tests.
Following the launch of the tests in October, applicants for a Private Hire license have to undergo an English language test to prove their abilities and submit the qualification to TfL. The tests have been deemed as not fit for purpose and the industry association is now calling for them to be scrapped.
TfL allows drivers to provide a copy of previously obtained exam certificate demonstrating English language proficiency. If they can’t locate one, a driver would need to contact their exam board to obtain a copy or, if their exam board no longer exists, they would need to commence a likely minimum eight-week process to try and get hold of a copy from the AQA.
Steve Wright MBE, Chairman of the LPHCA commented: “Some drivers who are unable to locate a copy of an exam certificate deemed acceptable by TfL are being forced to go to a test centre, pay a fee of around £180 to take a test and lose a day’s income while the test is administered.
“One driver has reported to us being subjected to a series of degrading security checks including looking behind his ears and being asked to turn his pockets inside out. It doesn’t matter to TfL if you were born in the UK and have spoken English all of your life. Drivers, some of whom have held a licence in London since licensing began and possibly having worked in the industry for nearly 50 years, are being forced to undertake an English test.
He concluded; “If TfL cares about the livelihoods of private hire drivers across London and the vital service that they perform, it must act today and suspend these tests.”
