SCOTTISH LOOPHOLE THREAT
UNLICENSED OPERATORS EXPLOIT THE 1982 ACT WHILE AUTHORITIES TURN A BLIND EYE
Article by Alistair Turner Ali’s Taxi Kiltarlity
For years, legitimate taxi and private hire drivers across Scotland have played by the rules. We undergo rigorous medicals, pass background checks, pay our licensing fees, and now navigate the mandatory HMRC tax checks. But a dangerous loophole in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 is allowing unlicensed operators to eat into our trade with zero oversight - and the authorities are looking the other way.
Under the 1982 Act, exemptions were originally carved out to allow wedding and funeral cars to operate without a standard taxi or private hire car (PHC) licence. The law loosely translates this exemption as being on exclusive hire to one client for a minimum of 24 hours. While wedding and funeral cars fit this naturally, it is now being heavily exploited by
“chauffeurs” and “tour operators” running daily hires.
The issue has spiked following the introduction of HMRC tax checks for licence renewals. Drivers who couldn’t or wouldn’t comply with the tax checks have simply migrated to this unregulated sector. The reality on the ground is brazen. In one local case, an operator and his driver who both failed the mandatory medical checks required to hold a taxi or PHC licence simply continued operating under the exemption. They didn’t even bother to take down the company branding or the roof sign, and one vehicle was spotted running a fake plate. This isn’t a grey area; it is blatant unlicensed operating.
Yet, attempts to get authorities to enforce the law have hit a brick wall. At major local events such as the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, an annual music and arts festival, held on the Belladrum Estate in Kiltarlity, these unlicensed operators run rampant.
When the issue was flagged directly to police officers directing traffic on site, the response was that it “wasn’t their issue.” Calls to 101 have yielded nothing. Promises from licensing committee meetings - including one from a Sergeant Patterson over a year ago who said she would get in touch - have vanished into thin air.
34 self-proclaimed
Worse still is the reaction when drivers try to protect their livelihood. When documentary evidence of this illegal local operation was posted online, the response wasn’t a police crackdown on the unlicensed vehicle. Instead, the licensed driver who posted it received a phone call from the police, accusing them of harassment and warning that they could lose their own licence because the post was “affecting the operator’s revenue stream.”
Public safety is at the heart of this issue. While the public and media rightly scrutinise the vetting process for licensed drivers when something goes wrong, they are completely blind to the fact that an unvetted individual - even someone freshly released from prison - can set themselves up as a “tour operator” tomorrow. They can drive families around with no medical checks, no criminal record background checks, and no council oversight.
Years of emails, photo and videos sent to council members, licensing staff, and the police prove that the authorities have been warned repeatedly. If a major incident occurs involving one of these rogue operators, the paper trail will show that the trade raised the alarm, and the system failed to act.
It’s time for the Scottish Government and local councils to close the 1982 Act loophole before a tragedy forces their hand. It’s worth noting that David Brown, the convicted rapist allowed to keep his operator’s licence by Highland councillors, could leave prison and operate under this exemption...!!
AUGUST 2026 PHTM
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