Taxis and Private Hire Vehicle Legislation Policy Lead

Job summary

This post will lead on all aspects of policy relating to taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHV) in Wales, at a time of considerable impending change for the sector.

Safeguarding in the sector has been brought into focus once again following the publication of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in June 2025, which included a specific recommendation for the taxi & PHV sector. As a consequence, the UK Department for Transport is proposing to legislate to introduce for England national minimum standards for taxi & PHV licensing.

Job description

Taxi & PHV policy is devolved to Wales. Subject to the legislative priorities of the next Welsh Government, the postholder will lead on the continued evolution of policy (which has been largely already designed over this current Senedd term) for modernised taxi & PHV legislation for Wales, which would aim to improve safeguarding and bring in new Welsh national standards for operators, drivers and vehicles. In advance of / in parallel with new legislation, the postholder will also lead on the delivery of non-legislative measures to improve safeguarding and standards, such as voluntary national standards and new training packages for drivers licensed in Wales.

This post will also be responsible for assessing the opportunities, risks and policy/legislative implications for Wales from autonomous taxis, a technology which has developed rapidly over the last few years, to the extent that autonomous taxis are operating in many US cities and expected to start operating in London from next year. It will be essential that any new Welsh legislation for the sector is future-proofed for this and other new technologies

Person specification

• Lead the development of policy for taxis and PHVs in Wales
• Lead the delivery of non-legislative policy measures to improve safeguarding and standards for the sector
• Support other policy work across Welsh Government where there are links to the taxi & PHV sector, e.g. safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults, education, equalities, decarbonisation
• Ensure that taxis & PHVs are considered appropriately in the work of the other policy teams in the Directorate, Transport for Wales and regional transport bodies.
• Consider the impact of new technologies on the taxi & PHV sector, and the associated wider social, economic and other consequences
• Brief Ministers on taxi & PHV policy issues and support Ministers at meetings with sector stakeholders
• Lead Welsh Government engagement with stakeholders from across the sector, including Local Authorities, operators, unions and passenger representative groups.
• Represent the Welsh Government at sector events and conferences
• Lead for engagement with taxi & PHV policy officials in DfT, Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland executive. Identify and manage risks and opportunities arising from relevant policy developments by the UK Government or other devolved governments.
• Lead on government business for the policy area

There is no team to support this post at present and therefore the post has no line management responsibilities. However, this could change should the next Welsh Government decide to proceed with new legislation, in which case it is expected that, as part of the bill team, a policy team would be created. The postholder would lead that policy team. The postholder may also be asked to take on line management responsibilities during their tenure.

The postholder will be expected to contribute to the Directorate’s capability to respond to major incidents affecting Wales and/or the Welsh transport network, primarily as a subject specialist for the policy area.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:2 stage processStage 1Application FormStage 2Interview

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : TransportPlanning@gov.wales
• Email : TransportPlanning@gov.wales

Recruitment team

• Email : SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales

Further information

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales. Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk.