Fae Fife wrote:
Sussex wrote:
bigj5555 wrote:
one has to have a plate and one doesnt...YET !
Well they should, unless they are contracted to one particular person.

I'm not so sure about that up here Mr Sussex.
As far as I can make out the way it works is that the council don't have to license at all, but when they do they pass a resolution to license certain vehicles, but they can exclude certain classes if they want.
So basically they can choose to ignore chauffeur drive if they want. As regards the exemptions, this just seems to mean that they have no choice as regards wedding cars etc - they are always exempt.
But it's certainly a grey area, and while the review a couple of years ago looked at the area, I don't think they covered it adequately.
Just because certain types of private hire companies call themselves something different doesn't exclude them from the need to be licensed. By your reasoning if I decide to wear a suit while I work & stick to hire that only involve trips to the theatre, restaurants & airports, I won't need a license ????????????
You are right in saying the licensing powers are discretionary, but once a authority has chosen to use then every one in that sphere of licensing must become licensed ie. hire & reward
It doesn't matter what you call yourself, if, to quote the Civic Government Act, you operate a vehicle which is, with a view to profit, available for hire by the public for personal conveyance you need to be licensed
I have email from the licensing teams at Renfrewshire & Edinburgh Councils which confirm the fact
Best wishes