Hi

This private hire is always a can of worms. First problem is that they are operated by local council, which can all have different rules, so what applies in one area, may not in others. added to that the staff often don't understand there own rules so will always advise on the safe side.

As for driving license, my view is that these are issued by DVLA, any local license can only relate to use of vehicle i.e taxi or private hire , but thats just my view.

While we are on the private hire subject, there is an argument that if you drive a customer home, you need to operate under private hire rules, vehicle, driver etc. This is because it can be said you are doing it for hire / reward, even if it is indirectly so.

Cheers Aidan