STAYING GREEN: Slough set to retain 2023 taxi vehicle emissions policy after review backs progress on air quality
- Perry Richardson
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Slough Borough Council’s Licensing Committee is being asked to retain its existing Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicle Policy following a formal review that concluded the framework is delivering measurable air quality improvements without further regulatory change. The recommendation will be considered at the committee’s meeting on 11 February 2026.
The report, prepared by the council’s public protection and public health teams, advises that no amendments should be made to the 2023 policy, which set phased deadlines for moving new taxi and private hire vehicle licences away from diesel and petrol. Officers argue that rolling back or pausing the policy would undermine environmental objectives and create uncertainty for licence holders who have already invested in cleaner vehicles.
Under the current rules, new taxi and private hire vehicle grant applications must be for non diesel vehicles from January 2026, with a further requirement from January 2027 that new vehicles must be alternatives to diesel and petrol mild hybrid powertrains. Existing diesel and petrol vehicles can continue to renew annually until they reach nine years of age, with wheelchair accessible vehicles exempt from the fuel transition requirements.
Fleet data included in the review shows a marked shift in vehicle choices. Of 69 new vehicle grant applications submitted in 2025 up to November, around 80 percent were for hybrid vehicles. As of November 2025, hybrids made up 58 percent of the standard licensed fleet, compared with 33 percent diesel, 5 percent petrol and 3.5 percent fully electric vehicles.
Licensing committee is advised to make no changes, citing cleaner fleet uptake and record low nitrogen dioxide levels
The council links these changes to improvements in local air quality. The report states that nitrogen dioxide concentrations recorded in 2024 were the lowest on record in Slough, based on monitoring data submitted to Defra in the Annual Status Report. Road traffic emissions account for roughly half of nitrogen dioxide levels in the borough’s five Air Quality Management Areas, all of which remain in force.
Officers also point to alignment with national transport and environmental policy, including the UK’s commitment to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. The report notes that Transport for London has operated zero emission capable requirements for licensed vehicles since 2018, and that neighbouring authorities such as Reading are tightening standards from 2026 onwards.
Support measures for drivers are expected to begin later this year after delays. Slough received £370,035 in Defra grant funding in 2021 to help the licensed trade transition to cleaner vehicles. A project due to commence in 2026 includes a try before you buy electric vehicle loan scheme, charging cost support for drivers without off street parking, and awareness campaigns around electric vehicle use and infrastructure.
The review concludes that maintaining the current policy supports the council’s Air Quality Action Plan 2024 to 2028 and wider public health objectives, while giving the trade a clear and stable regulatory pathway. Any alternative approach, officers warn, could risk non compliance with environmental targets and potentially require repayment of the Defra grant funding.
