One licensing authority says its strict standards have driven away almost half of the drivers serving its area — but insists it won’t compromise.
The BBC reports that the number of PHV badges issued by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has dropped by 47%. The council says it is because it has stricter rules than other licensing authorities — and wants the government to ban out-of-town working to maintain the highest standards.
Safety first
The council introduced a new licensing system in 2019, but since then, the number of private-hire and Hackney carriage drivers registered with the authority has fallen from 1,020 to 546, with PHV drivers instead choosing to be licensed by another authority and continuing to work in the area.
The council’s public protection committee added that the licensing loophole introduced in 2015 means stricter authorities were being “punished” for having tough standards.
The BBC said the council is working on its response to a government consultation on overhauling the national licensing framework, which could see an end to out-of-town working and what it called “licence shopping”.
The authority’s licensing lead, Matthew Burton, told the committee that the council is calling for “national standards to apply to all authorities”.
He added: “There are some local authorities that have very high standards and some that have very low standards, and many in between. There is a lack of consistency.
Shopping around
“What that means is that individuals are able to ‘licence shop’ and find the licensing authority that they may be able to get a licence from, when they might not be able to from their home authority.”
The BBC reports that the committee had been told multiple times that the area’s “comprehensive” policy meant licence holders were leaving the authority and, and new applicants are put off because its standards are too high.
Cllr Rupert Adcock told the committee: “We effectively have a system that punishes local authorities that have higher safety standards and rewards those with lower standards, and that’s just not right.
“In our response to the consultation we should set out the minimum standards that we want.”
Wolverhampton wanderers
The issue of out-of-town working has been widely reported, with the City of Wolverhampton Council issuing 10% – about 36,000 — of all PHV badges in England.
Recent Freedom of Information data shows the council licensed more than 20,000 private-hire drivers and more than 27,000 private-hire vehicles between January, 2023, and January, 2025.
However, of these, only 722 drivers and 1,250 vehicles were registered in the city. The vast majority — 20,067 drivers and 25,841 vehicles — were working outside the area.
As well as concerns over standards and enforcement, this means local authorities are also missing out on licensing revenue. The FOI data reveals that Wolverhampton — which is also known for having lower licensing rates – brought in £5.26 million from licensing fees in that time.
In Greater Manchester, recent figures show 8,952 drivers — 24.8 per cent — operating in the city-region are licensed 80 miles away in Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton Council stresses that it cannot refuse to license a driver because they live and work outside of the area and insists it closely monitors all drivers it licenses, with officers travelling hundreds of miles to carry out inspections and enforcement when necessary.
It adds that although its fees are lower than other authorities and its vetting process tends to be quicker, it is no less thorough.
It is understandable that licensing authorities want to maintain the highest standards and level of service for the trade. But for taxi and PHV drivers who are facing pressures of stagnant fares, higher running costs including fuel, taxi insurance and maintenance, who can blame them for saving money on licensing fees when they are perfectly entitled to do so?
