Taxi and private hire drivers in Tewkesbury could soon face a new licensing penalty-points system designed to deal with repeated minor breaches of licensing rules.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Licensing Committee has considered the proposed scheme and is recommending that the authority’s Executive Committee approves its introduction.
The Executive Committee is expected to consider the recommendation at its meeting on 2 September.
The scheme has not yet been formally approved, so licence holders should not currently treat the new penalty system as being in force.
Under the proposals, council licensing officers would be able to issue points for certain relatively minor offences or failures to comply with taxi and private hire licensing requirements.
Those points would be recorded against the relevant driver, vehicle proprietor or private hire operator’s licensing record.
If a licence holder accumulated 12 points within a three-year period, the case would automatically be referred to a Licensing Sub-Committee for review.
Reaching 12 points would not automatically mean losing a taxi or private hire licence. The sub-committee would consider the circumstances of the case before deciding what action, if any, was appropriate.
Options available under the proposed scheme include taking no further action, issuing a written warning, extending the period for which points remain live, suspending the licence or revoking it.
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Tewkesbury Borough Council originally consulted drivers, operators, residents and other interested parties on the proposal between April and 31 May 2026.
The council said the intention was to create an additional way of dealing with minor non-compliance without immediately resorting to more serious enforcement action.
The proposed system would sit alongside the council’s existing enforcement powers rather than replace them. The authority would still be able to issue warnings or cautions, prosecute offences or refer licence holders directly to a Licensing Sub-Committee where circumstances justified doing so.
That distinction is important because serious incidents would not necessarily have to progress gradually through the points system before stronger action could be considered.
Licence holders appearing before a Licensing Sub-Committee after accumulating points would have the right to make representations and could be legally represented at the hearing.
Where a licence was suspended or revoked, the licence holder would normally have a right of appeal to a magistrates’ court within 21 days, although immediate action can be taken in certain circumstances involving public safety.
The proposed licensing points should also not be confused with DVLA penalty points placed on a person’s driving licence for road traffic offences. This would be a separate council licensing system used to monitor compliance with taxi and private hire requirements.
If the Executive Committee approves the recommendation on 2 September, Tewkesbury would join a number of other licensing authorities that use points-based systems to identify repeated lower-level breaches before determining whether a licence holder remains fit and proper.
The council’s proposed scheme also provides for it to be reviewed two years after implementation and subsequently whenever further review is considered necessary.
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Sources
Tewkesbury Borough Council – Proposed Taxi and Private Hire Penalty Points Scheme
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