Isle of Wight Council officers have asked the Environment and Community Protection Committee to approve a draft hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy for 2027 to 2032, and to put it out for a six-week public consultation. Committee report The committee meets in the council chamber at County Hall, Newport, at 5pm on Thursday 29 October 2026. The papers were issued on 21 October 2026. Isle of Wight Radio reported the proposals the following day. The draft is not in force.
The current policy was approved by Cabinet on 13 January 2022 and runs for five years. No public consultation has been held on this revision. If the committee agrees, the consultation will go to every hackney carriage and private hire licence holder, councillors, town and parish councils, the police, school transport and disability groups, and it will be advertised on the council website. A further report would then go to the licensing committee, and back to this committee, before the policy could be adopted. Officers have discussed the changes with the chair and vice-chair of the licensing committee, who are satisfied with them.
A written question from a member of the public must reach democratic.services@iow.gov.uk by Monday 26 October 2026. One question is allowed per person.
Full driving licence
A new applicant would have to have held a full driving licence for at least three years on the date of application. The rule now is one year. The three years can be on a full UK licence, a full licence from a country the DVLA accepts for exchange without a UK driving test, or a mix of the two. Someone who has not built up three years in the UK or a recognised exchange country could not apply until they have.
An applicant who does not hold a full UK licence would have to pass a driver proficiency course, from a provider the council has approved, before a licence is granted. Where the application rests on an exchange-country licence, the driver's licence could run only while that person may legally drive in the UK. They would need a full UK licence before that entitlement ends.
The draft gives this reason for the three-year rule:
"The Council considers that applicants who have held a full driving licence for at least three years are more likely to have gained sufficient practical driving experience across a range of road, traffic and weather conditions. Given that licensed drivers routinely carry vulnerable passengers, children and members of the public for reward, the Council considers this requirement necessary and proportionate in the interests of public safety."
Training and testing
Safeguarding and professional standards training would be widened. Every driver would have to take refresher training every three years, at their own expense, covering safeguarding updates, Equality Act duties, disability awareness, licensing law and professional standards. The safeguarding course could also be required again after a complaint, where that is proportionate, or after a year or more away from licensed driving. Failing to complete the refresher, or failing to show an adequate understanding, may be weighed when the council decides whether a driver remains a fit and proper person. Each case would be considered on its merits.
Drug and alcohol testing would be more extensive. A test could be required with a new application or a renewal, after a complaint, allegation or intelligence, after an arrest, caution, charge, investigation or conviction involving drugs or alcohol, after a collision, where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds to believe fitness may be impaired, as part of a random programme, or after a previous positive test or a period of rehabilitation. A positive result would be treated as evidence that the person may not be fit and proper. The council could refuse the application or the renewal, suspend or revoke the licence, require a further medical assessment, or require more tests. Who pays is decided case by case. Further testing after a complaint, enforcement or a previous positive result may be charged in full to the applicant or driver.
Prescribed medication that may affect safe driving would have to be notified. A CanCard is not a prescription and is not, by itself, evidence that someone may possess or use cannabis. Cannabis, cannabis-based products and other controlled substances would have to be declared where they may be relevant to fitness. Public safety is the overriding consideration. Someone who has been through rehabilitation may be asked for evidence of sustained abstinence, medical reports and negative tests. The burden of showing they are fit and proper would stay with the applicant or driver.
Drivers would have to subscribe to the DBS Update Service and hold an enhanced disclosure that includes the children and adult barred lists. A break in that subscription is likely to mean the licence is suspended until the information is provided, or that a licence is granted for six months only. The draft also covers the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals, known as NR3. The council would share a driver licence that is revoked, refused or suspended, and would check applicants and licence holders against the register.
Code of conduct
A new hackney carriage and private hire driver code of conduct would set standards of behaviour. It would not be a set of licence conditions, and it would not create criminal offences. Falling short of it could still be taken into account in a complaint, an application, a licence review, or a decision on whether someone remains fit and proper.
Drivers would be expected to be polite, patient and respectful, to take account of elderly, vulnerable or distressed passengers, and to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Complaints should be handled professionally, without escalating a dispute, and drivers should take part in any investigation. On social media and other online platforms, they should not post material that is abusive, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, or likely to undermine public confidence in the licensed trade. Conduct away from the job, including violence, dishonesty, discrimination, harassment, safeguarding concerns or a criminal investigation, may also be relevant.
Hackney carriage driver conditions remain in a byelaw made under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. There is no proposal to change that byelaw. The new driver requirements and the code would sit alongside it.
Vehicles
A vehicle entering the licensed fleet would have to be under five years old, rather than under three. A vehicle powered entirely by electricity would have to be under seven years old, rather than under five. Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles would have to offer card payment, or another commonly accepted electronic payment, and a receipt. A certificate of compliance submitted with a vehicle application could be up to 14 days old, rather than seven.
The cost is expected to be minimal and would be met from existing taxi licensing fee income.