In 2003, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made a legal ruling that an 'Unmet Demand Survey' be carried out by councils such as Southampton that have a fixed limit on the amount of Hackney taxis in their area. The survey determines whether there are enough taxis working the streets.

 

The survey takes place every three years, and has recently determined that there is no need for anymore Hackney Licenses to be made available. This is good news for the trade, as the 283 Hackney Carriages number will remain the same.

 

What is a concern however, is that from October 1st 2015, the Deregulation Bill becomes Law.  Two of the changes directly affect licensing administration issues but the most contentious change is the sub-contracting of Private Hire bookings between Operators nationally, currently that can only occur between Operators in the same licensing district.