The Taxi & General Licensing Committee of West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 14 April 2026. The primary item on the agenda was a review of the taxi and private hire licensing fees, with a proposal for a new, aligned fee structure. The meeting also included standard procedural items such as the confirmation of previous minutes and the exclusion of the press and public for any exempt business.

Taxi and Private Hire Fees

The committee was scheduled to consider a revised and aligned fee structure for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver and Vehicle Licences, as well as Private Hire Operator Licences. This proposal, detailed in the Taxi Fees Report April 2026, aimed to address the disparities in fees that had existed since April 2021, when West Northamptonshire Council was formed from the amalgamation of three former authorities (Northampton Borough Council, Daventry District Council, and South Northamptonshire Council).

The report indicated that the proposed new fee structure, presented in the WNC Proposed Fees Table.pdf, was developed following a cost exercise and a consultation period held between 15 January and 12 February 2026. The consultation responses, available in the Fully Completed Online Responses.pdf and Partially Completed Online Responses.pdf, revealed significant opposition to the proposed increases. Common themes from the responses included concerns about financial hardship due to rising costs of living, fuel, insurance, and maintenance, as well as the impact of competition from ride-sharing platforms like Uber. Many respondents felt that the proposed fee increases were unaffordable and would negatively impact the sustainability of the trade, potentially leading to fewer licensed drivers and reduced community accessibility. A small minority of responses supported the fee increases, linking them to improved enforcement and quality control.

The report highlighted that taxi and private hire licensing fees are governed by legislation, specifically the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, which requires that fees are set to recover reasonable costs and do not generate a profit. The report also referenced legal precedents, such as the Court of Appeal case of R (app Rehman) v Wakefield City Council [2020] R.T.R. 11, which clarified that administration costs can include enforcement. The recommendations from the Licensing Manager, Nicholas Sutcliffe, were for the committee to approve the new fee structure after considering the consultation responses.

The report also detailed the legal implications, noting that fee setting for taxi licensing is a non-executive function of the Council. Financial implications were also outlined, with a risk identified that failure to operate in a way that recovers specific costs could lead to the service being subsidised by taxpayers or a reduction in service quality. The report stated that the proposed fees were calculated based on recovering the specific costs of delivering the service and did not include any discounts.

The agenda also included a note regarding the exclusion of the press and public for any items containing exempt information, as defined by Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. This typically relates to information about individuals, financial or business affairs, or legal privilege.