The House of Commons Transport Select Committee on taxis and private hire vehicles recommended in February 1995 that taxi licence applicants should pass a medical examination before a licence could be granted.
Responsibility for determining the standards, including medical requirements, to be applied to taxi drivers, over and above the driver licensing requirements, rests with the public carriage office in the metropolitan area and the local authority in all other areas. Current best practice advice is contained in the booklet "Fitness to Drive: A Guide for Health Professionals" published on behalf of the Department by The Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited (RSM) in 2006. This recommended that the group 2 medical standards applied by DVLA in relation to bus and lorry drivers, should also be applied by local authorities to taxi drivers.
