Tongue-tied taxi drivers could face English tests

Sep 7 2010 by Abby Alford, South Wales Echo


Recommend TAXI drivers could be ordered to take English tests as concerns grow over some drivers’ grasp of the language.



Councillors were due to decide today if they should make cabbies take a special course if passengers complain about their ability to communicate.



A report due to be considered by Cardiff council’s public protection committee states concerns have been expressed about existing licence holders’ understanding of English, especially where it is not their first language.



The new rule would apply to black-and-white hackney cab and private hire drivers who obtained their taxi licence before January this year.



Since then all new drivers are required to sit a BTEC course in taxi and private hire driving which, while not a test of English skills, requires drivers to be able to communicate to a high level.



In his report to the committee, chief officer Sean Hannaby said: “Where the authority has concerns about the English language skills of an existing licence holder it may be appropriate to require that individual to provide satisfactory proof of having undertaken an English language course.



“There are many courses being offered in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). It is recommended that where an existing licence holder is reported to the committee and there are concerns about their understanding of the English language it would be appropriate to require them to undertake a Skills for Life ESOL course to a minimum of entry level three.”



Entry level three requires students to know enough English to feel comfortable talking to people and reading simple texts.



But Mathab Khan, chairman of the Cardiff Hackney Association, which represents hackney drivers, has written to the committee’s chairman, Councillor Ed Bridges, stating “linguistic difficulties” between drivers and their passengers are rare.



He said only a small number of local authorities across Wales and England have language policies as tough as Cardiff.



“According to my own research, out of 380 local authorities there are as many as 368 that do not include BTEC course level two as a mandatory requirement to grant licences for transporting passengers by taxi and private hire vehicles.



“However, on January 1 the BTEC course was introduced to overcome the linguistic difficulties felt by the committee in a very negligible number of cases.”



In his submission Mr Khan asks that councillor Bridges and his committee evaluate the success of the BTEC course and consider scrapping it before introducing further measures.