Officials hoping to spread power swapping agreements over taxi licensing
Officers at Telford & Wrekin Council have approached two other licensing authorities over sharing powers to inspect and suspend unsafe taxis and minicabs.
Councillors have now officially returned the favour to Wolverhampton Council which had earlier this month given Telford and Wrekin officials the right to check vehicles working in the borough that are licensed by Wolverhampton.
There are hundreds of drivers who are licensed by Wolverhampton but who live in Telford. Until now officials in Telford did not have the right to inspect and, if necessary, suspend those drivers when they were working in the borough.
A meeting of the regulatory committee on Monday (October 20, 2025) was told that Telford officials have approached Shropshire Council and South Staffordshire Council about extending the reciprocal enforcement power arrangement.
Councillor Karen Tomlinson (Liberal Democrats, Shawbirch & Dothill) said she had “never agreed” with the councils being able to license vehicles from anywhere in the country.
But, she asked, “who is going to pay for the checks?”
Licensing officials have to be paid for from the money that comes in, and it is ring-fenced under current arrangements.
Richard Phillips, the council’s service delivery manager for registrars, public protection, legal and democracy, said he believed that licensing officers could make more checks when they are “out and about”.
“It is not a great burden,” he said.
And the council could rely on the other councils to act in the interests of public safety once Telford officials had told them of problems.
But he revealed that Telford & Wrekin Council and other councils are responding to a Government consultation now which is “about paying for it” if the idea spreads.
“Lots of authorities will make this point to the Government,” he said.
“It is progress, we are hoping that it is a step in the right direction,” he added.
There are some 320 councils with the power to license vehicles across the country, he said.
Councillor Tomlinson said: “It is great that we are taking these baby steps. I’m really pleased that it is on the agenda.”
Councillor Rachael Tyrrell (Conservative, Priorslee) said that she had used an “extremely professional” Uber cab in Manchester that had been licensed in Wolverhampton.
“He told me that it was quicker to get a licence in Wolverhampton.”
Mr Phillips replied by giving a “shameless plug” and promising would-be drivers choosing to be licensed in Telford that “we will process your licence quickly and efficiently”.
The committee was told that the more licences that a council approves the cheaper it becomes. Cost differences of £300 would make a difference to would-be drivers.
A meeting of Wolverhampton Council’s own regulatory committee earlier in October was told that it “licenses more private hire vehicles and drivers than any other council in the UK”.
“This is because of its work, beginning in 2015, to digitise its application form and streamline processes to ensure that its licensed trade did not leave Wolverhampton to license with another authority with lower standards.”
That meeting on October 1 was told that 96 per cent of drivers licensed by Wolverhampton live outside the city.
That council has also recently delegated authority to 10 other councils in addition to Telford after hearing of the success of a scheme in Milton Keynes.
Some 171 private hire drivers and 105 private hire vehicle proprietors licensed by Wolverhampton Council live in Milton Keynes.
