The proposed policy was approved by EHDC’s Licensing Committee on 27 June 2023 prior to it going out for consultation. The consultation has now closed, and the proposed policy will be going back to the Licensing Committee on 11 September for the outcomes of the consultation process to be considered.
The existing policy dated August 2015 and a number of other documents that have been published since then, need to be reflected in the Council’s policy. In particular, the Department for Transport (DfT) ‘Statutory Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle Standards’ July 2020.
While the focus of these 'standards' is on protecting children and vulnerable adults, the aim is also to establish common core minimum standards across the taxi and private hire sector. The DfT expects all licensing authorities to implement the recommendations in the standards unless there are compelling local reasons not to.
The major changes required by the DfT standards are: an increase in the frequency of enhanced DBS checks (Disclosure and Barring Service), the requirement for safeguarding training and additional record keeping and checks for private hire operators. These have all been included in the proposed revised policy.
In addition, a number of other changes are also proposed including around the relevance of convictions, knowledge tests and the professional taxi and private hire driver qualification requirement.
The proposed policy was approved by EHDC's Licensing Committee on 27 June 2023.
Proposed HC and PH Policy Part 1 Drivers and Operators 2023 (pdf 614 kb)
Please note the proposed policy updates the current requirements for drivers and operators.
The current policy for licensed vehicles will be updated separately later in the year.