TAXI drivers in the area will be checked more thoroughly before they can receive council licences.
At a meeting of its executive committee on Tuesday, Malvern Hills District Council voted through new arrangements for granting licences.
New applicants for taxi drivers' licences and private hire operators' licences will have to pay £22 for a driving skills assessment test before they will be granted a licence.
And all applicants for taxi licences will have to undergo an enhanced check with the Criminal Records Bureau rather than the standard check which has been made up until now.
Councillors also recommended a nine per cent increase in taxi fares at Tuesday's meeting.
The local taxi trade had requested the rise because of the increase in the national minimum wage.
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