Skip to main content

Taxi Licensing Privacy Notice

Who we are and what we do

The Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Legislation as we collect and process personal information about you in order to provide services and meet our statutory and regulatory obligations.

This notice explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent to:

Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Cotswold District Council
Council Offices, Cirencester, GL7 1PX
Email: data.protection@cotswold.gov.uk
Tel: 01993 861194

Why we need your information and how we use it

We collect information to assess your suitability and fitness to be issued with a taxi or private hire Licence and to assist us in managing your Licence. We may also use your contact details in the event that we need to contact you in relation to your Licence(s).

Our lawful basis on which we use this information is compliance with our legal obligations and tasks carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority and to provide these services in accordance with the following legislations, the list is not exhaustive:

  • Local Government (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 1976 
  • Town Police Clauses Act 1847 & 1889 
  • Transport Act 1985, 1991  
  • Equality Act 2010  
  • Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994  
  • Immigration Act 2016 
  • Deregulation Act 2015  
  • The Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) England Wales Regulations 2019

What type of information is collected from you

In order to administer our services we collect the following information from you:

  • Name, contact details, national insurance number
  • Vehicle details to include; history of purchase, start and expiry date of a Licence, vehicle plate number, vehicle registration number, whether vehicle is private hire or hackney carriage, whether vehicle is wheelchair accessible
  • Medical details  
  • Criminal record details  
  • Immigration status and duration in and out of the UK  
  • Right to work details 
  • Photograph and date of birth 
  • Past address and taxi trade history 
  • Information about your health from your GP 
  • Driving Licence details 
  • Reference details 
  • Name of drivers authorised to drive a Licenced vehicle 
  • Private hire business details including staff details 
  • Driver, vehicle and operator insurance details  
  • Driver, wheelchair and driver training day test results and  
  • Complaints history including committee and court reports 

We will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services. In some cases, you can refuse to provide your details if you deem a request to be inappropriate. However, you should note that this may impact on our ability to provide some services to you. 

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

We may share some information with:

  • Other local authorities;  
  • Enforcement organisations including but not limited to the police;
  • Internal council departments who requires access to your information for the purpose of administration, regulation and law enforcement. From time to time we may share your information with other council departments if the law allows us to do so.
  • Cabinet Office (as part of the National Fraud Initiative): The council has a legal duty to submit information to the government as part of the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). You can read about the type of information we have to disclose to the NFI on their website.
  • HM Revenue & Customs: The council has a statutory duty under schedule 23 of the Finance Act 2011 to submit returns to the HMRC.
  • National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN): The council shares information with NAFN as part of the national database of taxi and PHV driver Licence refusals, suspensions and revocations(NR3)
  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA): The council shares information with DEFRA as required by The Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) (England and Wales) Regulations 2019. The information we are required to share with DEFRA includes: Vehicle Registration Mark, the start and expiry date of the vehicle Licence, whether the vehicle is a taxi or PHV, the name of the licensing authority, the Licence plate number and an indication of whether it is a wheelchair accessible vehicle. Read DEFRA's Privacy Notice for more information.
  • Councillors who sit on the Council’s Licensing Committee: Where we refer your application or Licence (in the case of a review) to the council’s licensing committee for determination.
  • Publically available – when your application goes to Licensing committee, the details of your application are made publically available so that the decisions the council makes are open and transparent. Some personal information such as criminal conviction is not made publically available but the Licensing committee councillors will have that information to enable them to make a decision on your Licence application

Please note: A register is published on the Cotswold District Council website and will show private hire operator details including name, business address and telephone number, start and end date of their Licence, Licence number

How long we keep your information (retention period)

Data is only held as long as is necessary, unless superseded by statutory regulation, and disposed of securely when it is no longer needed.

  • Information submitted as part of an application - 6 years after the date in which the application is refused
  • Information held in respect of a Licence - 6 years after the date from which the Licence ceases to be held
  • Information received as part of an enforcement investigation – for a minimum of 6 years and then for only so long as may be necessary to inform a decision to protect the public
  • Information held on the NR3 database will be held for a period of 25 years.

How we protect your Information

We will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  

For any payments which we take from you online we will use a recognised online secure payment system. We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

Your rights 

You have rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

  • To access your personal data
  • To be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data corrected
  • To have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
  • To object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
  • To be told if we have made a mistake whilst processing your data and we will self report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection Legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your data along with all other personal records. 

https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-data-and-information/data-protection/

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of our records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. We are working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please email us or write to us at:

Licensing
Cotswold District Council
Council Offices
Cirencester GL7 1PX
Email: ers@cotswold.gov.uk
Contact us

Further information

 If you would like to know more about how we use your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this leaflet, please tell us. Contact the Data Protection Officer

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner: https://ico.org.uk

© Cotswold District Council 2024