Southampton City Council prepares major overhaul of taxi licensing rules for 2026 to 2031
- Perry Richardson
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Southampton is gearing up for a wide reset of taxi and private hire regulation as the council moves to adopt a single licensing policy covering the next five years.
The new document brings all existing rules into one place and updates several areas in line with national standards. The Licensing Committee will make its final decision shortly after a consultation that drew 122 responses.
The review follows the Department for Transport’s updated Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Standards published in 2022. Those standards require local authorities to hold a clear, unified policy and to follow national safeguarding expectations unless there is a strong local reason not to. The council stresses that the primary aim is public protection.
Licensing Manager Russell Hawkins says the current rules already meet national guidance but need reorganising after years of separate stand-alone policies. The new approach brings everything under one roof, covering hackney carriages, private hire vehicles, their drivers and private hire operators. A driver code of conduct is added because conditions cannot legally be attached to hackney carriage driver licences.
One of the headline changes is the formal inclusion of the existing cap on hackney carriage numbers and the process for allocating plates when they become available. These policies have been in use for some time but not previously embedded in the main document. The council says many consultation comments focused on these areas, though no changes have been made to the rules themselves.
The policy also tightens suitability checks. Applicants who have lived outside the UK for six months or more within the past five years will now be required to provide a certificate of good conduct from the relevant country. Officers say this closes a longstanding gap and aligns with Home Office guidance and Institute of Licensing recommendations updated in 2024.
Significant updates sit in the section dealing with driver conduct and penalty points. The threshold for DVLA points will drop from nine to seven before an assessment is required. New categories are added covering issues such as alcohol misuse, discrimination and non-criminal behaviour. Officers say this shifts the focus onto a wider picture of risk and fitness.
A new enforcement stance will also be adopted. The council plans to use the national “4 Es” approach, meaning Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce. This method applies to complaints, compliance work and suitability assessments. Officers stress that serious breaches can still lead straight to enforcement when needed.
Vehicle requirements are set for change too. Knee-room measurements will be added for the first time after officers said the rise of MPV-style vehicles created inconsistencies in assessments. The policy will require a minimum 762mm gap between the back of the front seats and the rear seats when measured at the mid-point of the runners.
The council is also proposing a shift in its taxi camera rules. SD-card-based systems have proved unreliable, and new installations will no longer be allowed from the end of 2025. Vehicles will need systems that can meet updated operational checks and proof-of-function requirements.
Advertising inside vehicles is set to change. A new condition would allow digital in-car advertising screens. These would run approved reels supplied by third-party companies, with potential payments to vehicle owners. Guidance will set out when the screens must be switched off, including during home-to-school journeys.
Drug testing rules will expand to allow urine testing to support more accurate lab analysis following positive on-site results.
With reactions from the trade mixed, the council accepts there is always a risk of reputational friction when policies evolve. But officers say failing to update the rules in line with national guidance would leave the city exposed to challenge.
