CHANGE IS COMING!


district, since it would mean that all drivers must return to within their licensed district before being able to receive any new bookings.


This could be achieved quite simply, if local authorities were to introduce and implement a new condition to private hire operators licences, that they must GEO fence their operations, meaning they would not be able to pass work to any driver or vehicle that was located outside of the council’s boundary.


There is some resistance to this approach, more so due to the push for clean air zones and reducing emissions, therefore those opposing this approach would suggest it to be a waste of fuel.


The result of course being that many drivers licensed hundreds of miles away, are actively working full time in remote areas, and this simply must stop.


B) More active enforcement of operators making direct use of vehicles licensed elsewhere (breach of the triple lock rule)?


To clarify, the triple lock rule clearly states that all three licences, the driver, the operator and the vehicle, must be licensed by the same council. An operator licensed by one council, may categorically NOT make use of any driver or vehicle that is licensed by any other council.


What we are seeing, is that some operators merely hold an extra piece of paper, an operator’s licence issued by a different council, but are not sub- contracting to their partner operator to comply with the Deregulation Act 2015, they are instead making direct use of drivers and vehicles licensed elsewhere, this is an offence, and is enforceable, but is it provable?


Repeal the Deregulation Act 2015.


We have seen reports that some suspect the “interim measure” is to remove the subcontracting abilities, or to “repeal” (cancel) the Deregulation Act 2015. We have seen no mention of this idea from any official source and therefore do not believe that this is a valid concern. But of course it is something that we will watch, and would object to it if it was suggested, since in truth, the Deregulation Act is NOT the cause of cross-border working. Despite the belief of many, including national press outlets, the Deregulation Act only allowed for one operator to “sub-contract” to another operator, plus it regulated the duration of licences. The act itself did nothing more, and it most certainly did NOT allow for permanent remote working, nor did it allow for an operator to make use of drivers or vehicles not licensed by the same council, (triple lock rule).


PHTM JULY 2025


C) Could we see a change in legislation to roll-out the intended use policies to all licence types? (currently may only be applied to hackney carriages)


An intended use policy does not “stop” any driver or vehicle from fulfilling bookings outside of their licensed area completely, it simply introduces a condition that all licence


This was introduced for hackney carriages in many areas, including Rossendale, where there was a massive influx of drivers being licensed there and then being used all over the UK, as we currently have from other areas right now. With the simple change to policy and conditions, the number of drivers licensed by Rossendale dropped from just over 4,000 to less than 400, and the number of licensed vehicles dropped from 3,196, to 153 within one year.


Intended use policies work!


The shift has changed now from hackney carriages to private hire vehicles, which means that to achieve this, there would need to be a change in legislation.


D)Will it see an end to licence shopping?


Without the above steps being taken, no it will not. If the above suggestions are acted upon, then yes it will, since there will be nothing to gain by being licensed elsewhere. If the majority of the work must be within the licensed area, (intended use), it would see an end to the flooding of areas by vehicles and drivers who were not licensed locally.


But is it cheaper?


Well of course it is! Remember that as we all know, a council may not make a profit OR a loss on licensing revenue (income), the department must be self- sufficient.


This means that where there are more drivers, vehicles and operators, the cost of a licence must be reduced to make sure there is no profit; but where there are fewer licences issued, the price must be higher, to cover the cost of running the service.


Human nature, and of course practical business sense, is to look for a good deal, just as we do for insurance, phone contracts, gas, fuel, electric etc, there is literally no difference here, so of course you will still go where it is cheaper. But how do we overcome that problem?


We might actually start to see local authority licence fees reduced, making it less attractive to licence shop, read on….


7 holders must be


“predominantly,” (mainly) used to provide a service within their licensed area.


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