Taxi drivers in Telford & Wrekin are reluctant to have free in-cab CCTV fitted, over privacy worries when the same vehicles are used as family cars. The Communities Scrutiny Committee heard that on Thursday 1 October 2026.
A report to the committee says the council still offers free, professionally fitted CCTV to all of its licensed private hire vehicles and hackney carriages, funded by the Community Safety Partnership. To date, 48 vehicles licensed by the council have CCTV fitted, on a voluntary basis. The report says the cameras are an extra safety feature for residents and visitors, and for licensed drivers.
The Shropshire Star reported that the scheme was launched in December 2022, and that the borough has around 400 licences. It said a councillor asked why more drivers were not taking part.
At the committee
Councillor Peter Scott (Independent, Newport West) asked: "It's good that 48 have taken it up - is there any reason some don't?"
He said: "It's an excellent scheme and it will make people feel safer, particularly the ladies."
The committee was told that some private hire vehicles are also used as personal cars. A council officer said: "Some of the taxi drivers don't feel comfortable having CCTV on because they think it would record every journey and they feel it's an invasion of privacy."
The officer added: "But we are getting the message out there. We only ever take footage from CCTV from inside a vehicle if there was a complaint or incident. It would be related to their work."
Councillor Giles Luter (Labour, Ercall) said the rollout of CCTV in taxis is a "positive start and if we can encourage more people to get involved I think it makes especially women feel more comfortable travelling around. It's an excellent initiative."
Councillor Elise Davies (Labour, Malinslee & Dawley Bank), who chaired the meeting, called it "an amazing initiative."
Members were looking at the night-time economy, and at how the council and its partners work to keep people safe.
How the scheme was set up
The BBC reported the launch on 22 December 2022. For the trial, cameras were to be fitted in 20 taxis licensed by the council. The council told the BBC the cameras would not record sound except in an emergency, and that footage would be assessed only if a complaint was made or the driver or a passenger asked for it. The scheme was run with West Mercia Police and, the BBC reported, funded by the police and crime commissioner.
Deputy leader Richard Overton told the BBC: "From the driver's point of view, having CCTV in their vehicle may make them feel less vulnerable to attacks or fare dodging."
The council's CCTV pilot pages, still published, say the scheme is voluntary. They say images cannot be viewed live. Licensing officers download them from a sealed unit, and only for authorised purposes. The council is the data controller, rather than the driver, and only approved licensing officers can see the images. Audio is recorded only if the driver or a passenger presses the panic button, and then for three minutes. Vehicles with CCTV must show signs inside and outside, including the purpose of the scheme, the data controller, a contact number, and that audio can be switched on with an emergency button.
The pilot pages say funding has come from the Community Safety Partnership and the police and crime commissioner. The report for the 1 October 2026 meeting describes the current offer as free, professionally fitted, and funded by the Community Safety Partnership.
The meeting supplied no figure for how many drivers had declined the cameras, and no split of the 48 between hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.
Taxi checks in the same report
The report also covers checks on licensed vehicles. The council works with West Mercia Police on vehicle stop operations, during which private hire vehicles are inspected. Since October 2025 it has held a reciprocal arrangement with Wolverhampton Council. The report says that arrangement enables Wolverhampton-licensed vehicles to be inspected and suspended. The Shropshire Star reported that borough officials can carry out those inspections and suspensions.
During 2025, 18 breach of condition notices were issued to Telford vehicle proprietors, requiring defects or compliance problems to be put right. Those breaches included private hire plates not fixed correctly, a defective headlamp, and drivers not wearing their private hire lanyards.
The Community Safety Partnership has funded a Taxi Marshal service. The report says it operated mainly in the town centre, with extra cover in Newport at peak periods. The partnership also supports Street Pastors, and the use of data to identify hotspots linked to licensed premises, taxis and community safety.
For drivers deciding whether to take the free cameras, the committee did not change the rules. The cameras remain voluntary. What the meeting put on the record is the privacy worry about private and family journeys, and the officer's answer that footage from inside the vehicle is taken only after a complaint or incident connected to the driver's work.