Don't know if this is of much interest, and anyone who wants to read the whole thing will have to visit the link below. But this is the introduction to the guidance below, which at least gives a brief overview of what it's all about.
But I have it on good authority that badges will only be renewed to people with an intimate knowledge of the whole guidance, so probably best to give it all a good read
Guidance for licensing authorities to prevent illegal working in the taxi and private hire sector in the UK (accessible)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible
8 August 2022
About this guidance
This guidance is issued for use by licensing authorities handling applications for taxi operator, taxi sector, private hire car (PHC), private hire vehicle (PHV) or booking office driver licences (referred to in this guidance as taxi and private hire sector / licences) in the UK and sets out:
- • what licensing authorities need to know about their legal duty not to issue a licence to a person who is disqualified from holding one due to their UK immigration status;
• how licensing authorities should discharge this duty by conducting immigration checks;
• whom a licensing authority needs to conduct checks on, when, and how to conduct checks correctly.
The requirement to check the immigration status of licence applicants does not amend or replace the existing ‘fit and proper’ person test that licensing authorities must perform; this includes obtaining a Certificate of Good Conduct for applicants who have resided abroad for a period of time.
It should be used by licensing authority staff responsible for the issue, renewal, suspension and revocation of licences. These provisions only apply to the applicant and do not apply to the MOT or other vehicle check. They also do not apply to a DVLA or DVA driver’s licence, although the Immigration Act 2014 and the Immigration Act 2016 introduced provisions regarding the issue and revocation of such licences in respect of unlawful migrants and provides, through section 44 of the 2016 Act, a new criminal offence of driving illegally in the UK.