Proposed changes Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Fees, Procedures and Conditions and how to have your say
We are consulting on proposed changes to licensing fees and conditions.
Fee Levels
The council charges fees to pay for the cost of providing the licensing service. New hackney carriage and private hire fee levels have been proposed, taking into account recent legislation, caselaw and government guidance.
The proposed fees are significantly higher than current levels for a number of reasons:
- Current fee levels were last revised in December 2015 when costs were much lower. They were due to be revised in 2020 but the council took a decision to wait because it was concerned about causing hardship to licence holders during COVID.
- Following a court case in 2019, the council intends to recover its full costs for ongoing compliance and enforcement work.
- The 2020 Department for Transport Statutory Standards have created extra administrative requirements for licensing, for example DBS checks every six months instead of every three years.
In future, the council proposes to carry out a full review of fee levels every three years, which will mean any rises are likely to be much smaller.
Condition Changes
The Department for Transport issued 'Taxi and Private Hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England', in November 2023. Proposed changes as a result of that guidance, along with some proposed minor changes to the existing conditions, have been made.
Consultation on proposals
The consultation opens on 25 September 2024 and will run for 12 weeks, closing on 18 December 2024. All comments received during that time will be summarised in a report which will be considered by the council's Environment and Community Panel, Cabinet and the Full Council.
How to comment
If you have questions about the proposals, please email ehlicensing@west-norfolk.gov.uk and the team will be happy to help.
If you want to comment on the proposals, please put your comments in writing to ehlicensing@west-norfolk.gov.uk or by writing to Licensing Department, Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Kings Court, Chapel Street, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1EX.
If you need help to put your comments in writing, please call 01553 616200.
Frequently asked quetions
How much money does the council make from taxi licensing?
The council does not make money from this. The rise in fees reflects rises in the cost of providing the services.
What is the court case that says the council can recover its full costs for ongoing compliance and enforcement?
In 2019 a case was heard in the Court of Appeal about the costs of administering driver licensing. The Court was looking at a number of issues, including whether the cost of enforcing the behaviour of licensed drivers could be recovered through the driver's licence fee. The Court concluded that it could, under section 53 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1976.
Specifically, the judges said: "... we consider that the costs of enforcing the behaviour of licensed drivers can be recovered through the driver's licence fee under section 53(2). The relevant words in that provision are "the costs of issue and administration". The costs of "administration" must be something other than, and in addition to, the costs of "issue". There is no difficulty in interpreting "administration" in its statutory context as extending to administration of the licence after it has been issued. It naturally includes the costs of suspension and revocation, which are events expressly mentioned in Part II of the 1976 Act. Suspension and revocation rest on non-compliance with the requirements and conditions for continuing to hold the licence. As we have said, it would therefore have been obvious to Parliament, when enacting the 1976 Act, that costs would be incurred by the district council in monitoring compliance with such requirements and conditions.
Full details of the case can be found on the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website.
Some of the rises are more than 10% per year since it was last reviewed - why has it gone up so much?
The big rises are on driver fees, which now include items that we didn't used to charge for. Most of the other rises are much smaller.
Do the new fees include making up for missed income in previous years?
No, we have not included that. These fees simply reflect the cost of providing the service now.
What do other councils charge?
We have created some charts showing fee charges in neighbouring councils and councils recognised by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy as being similar to us.
Can I pay my licence fee in instalments?
No. This would incur additional administrative costs which would further raise fees.
I already hold a combined driver's licence, will I now have to take a disability awareness test?
No, the requirement is being introduced for new drivers only.
My Hackney Carriage roof sign is smaller than the proposed size changes, will I have to buy a new one?
Yes, if the conditions are approved. However, there will be a grace period to give you time to do this. After the grace period, all Hackney Carriage vehicles must be furnished with the prescribed size of roof signage.
If these conditions are approved, do I now have to fix minor MOT failures as well as advisory items?
Yes. Minor defects recorded on the MOT indicate that a part has failed so still need to be addressed.