ALL THINGS LICENSING
Article by Mike Smith, Senior Specialist for Licensing and Community Safety at Guildford Borough Council and Vice-Chair of the Institute of Licensing South East Region.
Please note that this article represents my own views which are not presented as the views of the Institute of Licensing or Guildford BC.
As the autumn and darker evenings begin to draw in after a hot and busy summer, you could be forgiven for thinking that after the publication of the Casey Report, the Government’s deadline for evidence on taxi and private hire legislation reform closing and the Supreme Court definitively clearing up the issue of private hire contracts outside of London, that all would be quiet until the Government decides how best to proceed with the inquiry.
However, after having just returned from representing the Institute of Licensing (IoL) at the Licensed Private Hire Road show, where I was very pleased to speak with trade representatives, suppliers and a couple of the brilliant PHTM team; and with the next IoL Taxi Conference fast approaching, there is still plenty of licensing news to report on.
It has also probably not escaped readers’ attention that immigration is a topic dominating the news at the moment – and not always in a good way. This is an important topic for local authorities as our goal as councils is to bring our communities together; to be inclusive boroughs and districts where people of diverse identities feel valued, respected and represented.
The taxi and private hire trade is a diverse business which helps to make it so vibrant with different communities adding to its rich make-up. We can all be proud of our nationalities and we all benefit when we learn to respect and appreciate our differences.
Also being widely reported is the possibility of a ‘Taxi Tax’ and how Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly looking to introduce it in the Autumn Budget. Again, we will have to wait and see what transpires.
While readers may not be as interested with politics as I am, you’ve probably still heard about the UK Government reshuffle last month following the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela
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Rayner, who held the brief for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. With local government reorganisation in full swing the process unlikely to change despite ministerial changes, we are simply too far down the line; however it may be delayed ever so slightly while new ministers are briefed and take a view.
Suffice it to say there was no change to the Transport Minister, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about going back to the drawing board whilst the Transport Inquiry takes its next steps.
Transport Inquiry publishes written evidence
On this note, the Transport Select Committee inquiry into the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles has begun to publish the written evidence it has received.
Having had a brief look through the submission, there are submissions accepted from a range of stakeholders including the IoL, Local Government Association, licensing authorities, operators, trade associations and passenger groups.
One common theme from the few submissions I have read, and very much the feedback I received at the LPHCA event as well as the PHTM EXPO in May, was the need to have national, common standards.
The published written submissions are available on the Committee Inquiry pages at:
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9260/licensing -of-taxis-and-private-hire-vehicles/
At the time of writing 65 submissions have been published and given that there has been such a large scale of responses to the licensing inquiry, the Committee has agreed to publish the written evidence in batches so more submissions will likely be published in due course.
The Institute of Licensing submission
As readers would expect, the IoL has submitted a comprehensive response to the Transport Committee Inquiry into the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles, highlighting the urgent need for reform across England and Wales. The current system, governed by outdated legislation and fragmented standards, is no longer fit for purpose in a modern, technology-driven transport landscape.
OCTOBER 2025 PHTM
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