Ministers set out three potential industry gains if new regional taxi and PHV licensing reform arrives
- Perry Richardson
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The Government has identified three core benefits it believes would be delivered to the taxi and private hire vehicle industry by shifting licensing responsibilities from individual councils to larger regional bodies, including Mayoral Combined Authorities.
The assessment was set out in a written parliamentary response following a question from Labour MP Clive Betts, who asked whether ministers had considered transferring powers and responsibilities for taxi licensing away from constituent unitary authorities.
Responding on behalf of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said the Government remains committed to consulting on whether all Local Transport Authorities should become responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. The minister said administering the regime across a larger footprint would bring three specific advantages for the sector.
The first benefit identified is increased consistency of standards. Ministers argue that the current system, under which more than 300 licensing authorities set their own conditions, has produced wide variation in vehicle age limits, emissions requirements, driver checks and training standards.
Government says consistency, scale and enforcement improvements justify moving licensing beyond individual councils
For the taxi and PHV trade, this fragmentation has created uneven operating conditions and has allowed some operators to base themselves in areas with lighter-touch regulation while working predominantly elsewhere. A regional approach, the Government says, would establish more uniform baseline standards across whole travel-to-work areas, reducing distortion in the market and improving passenger safety outcomes.
The second benefit relates to economies of scale in licensing administration. Under a regional model, functions such as application processing, policy development, compliance monitoring and data management could be centralised rather than duplicated across neighbouring councils. The Government believes this would make licensing operations more efficient and resilient, particularly for smaller authorities that struggle with staffing and specialist expertise. For the industry, ministers suggest this could translate into clearer processes, faster decision-making and potentially more stable fee structures over time.
The third benefit highlighted by the Government is more effective enforcement. Currently, enforcement activity is often constrained by local authority boundaries, limiting the ability of officers to act against vehicles and drivers licensed elsewhere but operating within their area. Ministers argue that a regional licensing footprint would allow enforcement teams to operate across an entire functional economic area, strengthening action against illegal plying for hire and non-compliant private hire drivers.
Minister Fahnbulleh said: “The Government remains committed to consulting on whether to make all Local Transport Authorities (including Mayoral Combined Authorities) responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Administering the regime across this larger footprint would increase the consistency of standards; create greater economies of scale; and enable more effective use of enforcement powers across a whole functional economic area.”
Taken together, the three benefits form the Government’s central justification for reform. Rather than presenting the shift as a structural change for its own sake, ministers are framing regional licensing as a way to modernise regulation in line with how the taxi and PHV market actually operates, with vehicles and drivers routinely crossing council borders as part of normal business.
The response does not set out a timetable for consultation or detail how transitional arrangements would work for existing licence holders. However, by explicitly linking reform to consistency, efficiency and enforcement capability, the Government has provided the clearest indication yet of the outcomes it expects the taxi and private hire industry to see from any move to regional control.
