The Licensing Committee of Tewkesbury Borough Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday, 9 October 2025, to discuss proposed changes to street trading and taxi licensing policies, and to review the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The committee will also look to approve the minutes of previous meetings.

Proposed Amendments to Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Policy

The committee will be asked to endorse a revised Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Licensing Policy and recommend its adoption to the Executive Committee. The proposed changes follow a consultation on amendments to licence conditions for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

The proposed changes to the Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Policy relate to:

• Width of seats: The report pack states that there is a proposal to clarify the wording around seat width measurements to ensure consistency, particularly for bench seats. The proposed wording is:

The width of each passenger seat shall not be less than 16 inches (406mm) measured across its narrowest part. Where a seat is designed to accommodate more than one passenger, such as the rear benchseat in a saloon style vehicle, the overall width of the bench seat must provide a minimum width of 16 inches (406mm) for each passenger. For example, the width of a bench seat provided to accommodate three passengers shall be not less than 48 inches (1218mm)

• Carriage of fire extinguishers: There is a proposal to remove the requirement for licensed vehicles to carry a fire extinguisher, in line with updated best practice guidance from the Department for Transport¹. The report pack states that instead, drivers would be advised to evacuate the vehicle and call 999 in the event of a fire.

The report pack includes a summary of consultation responses which indicates that a majority of respondents supported both proposals.

Proposed Amendments to Street Trading Licensing Policy

The committee will consider a report on proposed amendments to the council's Street Trading Licensing Policy, with a view to approving a consultation exercise. The proposed changes aim to reduce administrative burdens on both traders and the council.

The report pack outlines that the proposed amendments to the Street Trading Licensing Policy include:

• Reducing administrative burdens for renewal applications: The report pack states that the proposal is to reduce the amount of documentation required for renewal applications and to streamline the advertising and consultation process.
• Removing the requirement for a street trading consent in certain circumstances: The report pack states that the proposal is to create local exemptions for charitable or community events, events on council-owned land, and the sale of small amounts of surplus domestic produce. The report pack suggests that requiring someone to obtain a street trading consent to sell small amounts of surplus domestic produce could dissuade them from selling their surplus produce and lead to an increase in food waste, which runs contrary to the Council's Household Waste and Recycling Collection Service Policy and Procedures and the Council's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report pack includes a copy of the existing Street Trading Licensing Policy, a revised version of sections 4.3 and 4.4, and a draft of the proposed new part 12 for insertion into the policy.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill Overview

The committee will consider a report providing an overview of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons in November 2024.

The report pack states that the bill aims to:

• Phase out the sale of tobacco products.
• Regulate the display, sale, and advertising of vapes and other nicotine products.
• Enable the expansion of existing indoor smoking restrictions.
• Strengthen enforcement activity.
• Introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco and vape products.

The report pack notes that the bill would make it an offence to sell tobacco products, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

The committee will be asked to approve the minutes of the following previous meetings:

• Licensing Committee meeting held on 24 July 2025
• Licensing Sub-Committee (Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005) meeting held on 14 August 2025
• Licensing Sub-Committee (Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on:
  • 17 July 2025
  • 11 August 2025
  • 17 September 2025

Separate Business

The agenda includes an item for separate business, where the chair will move to exclude the public from the meeting to discuss items involving exempt information as defined in the Local Government Act 1972².