Could Lichfield policy could become blueprint for tackling cross-border taxi licensing nationwide?
- Perry Richardson
- 45 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A little-known licensing policy introduced by Lichfield District Council is gaining attention after being cited by Cheshire East Council as a potential model for improving transparency when passengers are allocated taxis or private hire vehicles licensed by another authority.
The policy does not prevent cross-border working, which is permitted under existing legislation. Instead, it requires licensed private hire operators to tell customers before their journey if the booking has been allocated to a driver and vehicle licensed by a different council, ensuring passengers know which authority is responsible for regulating that vehicle and handling complaints.
The measure was formally adopted as part Lichfield District Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2025-2030, which came into force in April 2025. Under section 10.35 of the policy, operators must notify customers whenever a booking is “allocated or reallocated to a vehicle licensed by another Council”.
The policy goes further by prescribing the wording operators must use. It states customers must be told: “The driver and vehicle allocated to this journey are not licensed by Lichfield District Council which means they are not able to deal with any complaints about the driver or vehicle. The driver and vehicle are licensed by X Council and you will instead need to direct any complaints to them.”
The requirement applies regardless of how the booking is made, whether by telephone, online, through an app or in person. Operators are also required to keep a separate register of bookings allocated to vehicles licensed by another authority, creating an audit trail for enforcement purposes.
The policy is notable because it does not seek to restrict cross-border hiring, something local authorities cannot generally do under current taxi legislation. Instead, it focuses on transparency, ensuring passengers understand that the vehicle arriving may not be regulated by the council where they made the booking. This is particularly relevant because complaints about licensed vehicles and drivers must usually be dealt with by the authority that issued the licence, not the authority where the journey takes place.
Lichfield has also attached enforcement consequences to the requirement. Its compliance and enforcement framework allows the council to suspend an operator’s licence for up to 28 days if they fail to notify passengers that the allocated vehicle is licensed by another council. The notification duty is treated as a specific licensing condition rather than guidance.
The approach comes as cross-border licensing continues to receive national attention. The Department for Transport’s current framework allows private hire operators to subcontract bookings and for drivers licensed by one authority to undertake work in another, provided legal booking requirements are met. However, concerns have grown among some councils that passengers are often unaware the vehicle collecting them is licensed elsewhere.
Those concerns have become increasingly prominent following Baroness Casey’s review into group-based child sexual exploitation and a subsequent parliamentary inquiry examining whether taxi licensing should be standardised across England. The Transport Committee has identified cross-border licensing and inconsistent local standards as key areas for investigation.
It is against that backdrop that Cheshire East Council is now considering adopting Lichfield’s approach. A motion due before councillors asks the Licensing Committee to explore introducing the same requirement, meaning customers would be informed before their booking is confirmed if their driver or vehicle is licensed by another authority.
While the proposal would not alter the legal ability of out-of-area drivers to work in Cheshire East, supporters argue it would provide passengers with clearer information about who regulates their journey and where any complaints should be directed. Critics may argue the policy adds another administrative step for operators without addressing the wider legislative framework that permits cross-border working in the first place.
For councils seeking greater oversight without waiting for national reform, Lichfield’s notification policy is emerging as one of the few local measures available within existing licensing powers.
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