Government to consult on devolution of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing

The Department for Transport will consult shortly on whether to make all Local Transport Authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

On 6 May 2025, Rachael Maskell raised a parliamentary question asking when the Department for Transport would finalize its review of options to strengthen taxi regulation.

In response, on 12 May 2025, Simon Lightwood of the Department for Transport announced that a consultation would be launched shortly to consider transferring taxi and private hire vehicle licensing responsibility to all Local Transport Authorities.

The rationale behind this proposed change is that local oversight would enhance regulatory consistency, enable more effective enforcement, and achieve greater economies of scale, thereby reducing incentives for drivers to obtain licences outside their usual working areas. 

He said:

“The Department for Transport will consult shortly on whether to make all Local Transport Authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

“We believe administering the regime at this higher level would increase the consistency of standards and enable more effective use of enforcement powers. Greater economies of scale could also enable authorities to improve the efficiency of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Addressing these issues should reduce the factors that induce people to license out of their usual working area.”