OUR revelations today that taxi drivers in Worcester are hiding criminal convictions from the licensing authorities for up to three years are extremely worrying.

The city council – the body that approves licenses for drivers – is bringing in tough new penalties as a result of the hidden convictions.

These will see drivers who have failed to report a conviction to the council having to re-take their license test. If they pass they will then only get a one-year licence rather than the normal three-year one.

We wonder whether these sanctions are tough enough.

The rules for taxi drivers in Worcester are quite clear. If a licensed driver receives a criminal conviction it has to be reported to the council within seven days.

Yet we report today that a large number of drivers who are hauled up before the council’s licence renewal sub-committee have failed to declare convictions.

While the number of drivers appearing before the sub-committee is small it cannot be right that those who have effectively lied to keep their licence should then get the chance to continue serving the public.

We now have a scenario in which people using taxis in Worcester have no idea whether their driver is a convicted criminal.

The city council is to be congratulated for taking a stance on this issue. But we question whether the action being taken is tough enough to ensure public confidence.