Mark Lancaster has welcomed a House of Commons inquiry into the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles after months of campaigning.

Local taxi operators and their representatives have made several complaints to the city’s MPs by about the loss of business resulting from cross-border activity by operators from neighbouring boroughs.

Mr Lancaster, along with Iain Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes South, have welcomed the announcement that the matter will now be investigated by the Transport Select Committee in the Parliament.

Mr Stewart, a member of the Transport Select Committee, said: “It is important to look carefully at this issue to ensure that there is a level-playing field for operators in Milton Keynes and that passenger safety comes first. I am looking forward to reviewing all the evidence and quizzing witnesses early in the New Year”

His Milton Keynes North counterpart, Mark Lancaster said: “After months of campaigning to address this complex issue I am pleased it is finally being scrutinised by the select committee. Though there are no simple solutions I look forward to their recommendations. I hope this will help us move towards the resolution of an issue that has warranted scores of complaints in Milton Keynes.”

The Committee is interested, in particular, in cross-border hire problems caused by private hire vehicles picking up passengers on a large scale outside of the area in which they are licensed.

Short written submissions should be sent no later than Monday 20 December 2010 to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it