Guidance ends confusion over minicab classification

Care workers, volunteers and child-minders do not have to register as minicab drivers, the government has clarified.

Since changes to minicab licensing laws in 2006 certain people, such as childminders who drive children to school or carers for the elderly, had to register as minicab drivers to transport passengers in their own vehicles.

This was a costly hassle for both the driver and their local council, and Transport Minister Norman Baker today clarified the situation.

“Clearly parents helping out at a play group, or carers getting people to the doctor are not minicab drivers. I hope that by publishing this new guidance today these people will be able to get on with their vital activities, without the hassle or cost of getting a minicab licence.

“Councils will also benefit by cutting out unnecessary paperwork which wastes valuable time and money. This is good, common-sense Government.”

The government guidelines outline that the following groups should be exempt from having to license their vehicle:

• Private ambulances, including emergency vehicles and vehicles which operate as part of a formal patient transport service;
• Volunteers who share their car or provide lifts as part of their voluntary duties;
• Care and support worker services, including those who care for adults in their own homes, in community settings or in residential or nursing care homes;
• Childminders who carry children as passengers as part of their duties;
• Rental car companies and garages offering ‘courtesy lift’ services for customers, for example whilst their car is in for repair.