The Licensing and Environmental Health Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss taxi licensing fees, driver checks and general enforcement. The meeting will include discussion of proposed changes to licence fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers, vehicles and operators, and a review of the frequency of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) checks for licensed drivers. The committee will also receive an update on enforcement and compliance activities carried out by Licensing Officers.

Proposed 2026/27 Licence Fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire

The committee will be asked to consider proposed licence fees for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers, vehicles, and operators for the year 2026/27. The report pack includes a Report for Proposed Licence Fees for 2026-27 which states that Uttlesford District Council is required to review its fees and charges annually, and that taxi and private hire licensing should operate as a cost neutral service, in accordance with section 70 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976¹.

The report pack includes Appendix A, which compares the proposed fees with the existing fees, and provides illustrations and explanations of costs and income. The proposed fees include a 3.52% increase on the primary driver licence fee (to £259.00) and a 3.86% increase on the primary vehicle licence fee (to £147.00 for a renewal). The report pack notes that these increases are due to annual staff pay awards, salary increments and inflationary changes.

The report pack states that the council is required to consult with interested parties regarding any proposed changes to the existing fee structure. The consultation is scheduled to run across October and November, and if no objections are received, the fees will be taken directly to Full Council for approval. If objections are received, the fees will be returned to this committee for further consideration.

Driver DVLA Check Review

The committee will consider a Report for Driver DVLA Check Review Oct 25 regarding the frequency of DVLA checks for licensed Taxi and Private Hire drivers. The report pack states that the committee previously approved in principle an increase to the frequency of checks, subject to a trade wide consultation.

The report pack includes Appexndix A - Consultation - DVLA check, which summarises the responses to the consultation. Of the 241 responses, 75 (31%) supported the increase in check frequency from annually to six-monthly, while 166 (69%) did not. The most common reasons for opposing the increase were the financial burden on drivers, and the view that the existing rules already require self-reporting of endorsements.

The report pack notes that while Licensing Officers recognise there is a free DVLA checking service on the GOV.UK website, it requires drivers to provide a unique check code each time, and for Officers to manually perform the process, creating significant extra staff workload.

Enforcement and Compliance Update

The committee will receive an Enforcement Update report outlining the statistics and general activities of the compliance and enforcement team between 1 May 2025 to 31 August 2025. The report pack notes that there were approximately 43 proactive taxi and private hire related visits to various sites, including Stansted Airport, Audley End Railway station and schools, resulting in 51 checks of drivers and 103 checks of vehicles licensed by Uttlesford District Council (UDC). Lower-level compliance issues were identified, such as failure to display ID or signage. One vehicle was suspended for having a tyre with a tread depth below the legal limit.

The report pack also notes that there were 9 visits made to Stansted Airport, 6 of which were dedicated 'touting' operations in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) and the police. Eight individuals were suspected of touting, all of whom were either unlicensed or registered with TfL.

The report pack states that one Personal Licence was revoked by the Licensing Panel following a request by Essex Police after the individual concerned had been convicted of drink driving. There have been 4 hackney carriage and private hire driver licence revocations and 175 licence suspensions, with approximately 74% of suspensions due to failure to maintain an active subscription to the DBS Update Service[^3]. There have been 131 hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licence suspensions, with 64% of vehicles suspended for failing compliance tests or not taking a compliance test by the required deadline.

The report pack notes that a total of 22 complaints were received during this period, 16 relating to drivers and 6 relating to licensed premises.