Glasgow City Council is set to scrap a decades-old rule forcing taxi and private hire drivers to carry fire extinguishers. This follows a campaign by the Scottish Private Hire Association (SPHA) highlighting that the requirements actually pose safety risks.

The change is part of a major overhaul of Glasgow’s taxi and private hire licensing conditions. However, while the wider policy review introduces sweeping updates across the sector, it is the removal of the mandatory fire extinguishers that marks a major victory for trade reformers who have fought for years to align Scottish licensing with modern safety standards.

For years, local authorities across Scotland have universally mandated that licensed vehicles carry fire fighting equipment. The SPHA has long argued that this requirement is not only fundamentally flawed but introduces unnecessary risks to drivers and the travelling public alike.

"Get Out, Stay Out, Call 999"

The driving force behind the policy change is a push to replace outdated rules with evidence-based safety practices. Under current guidelines from national fire bodies, drivers without firefighting training are actively discouraged from attempting to tackle vehicle blazes.

Eddie Grice, General Secretary of the SPHA, welcomed the shift in perspective, stating: "The primary purpose of an extinguisher in a vehicle should only ever be as an aid to escape, not as a tool to fight a fire. In practice, forcing an untrained driver to tackle a vehicle fire is minimal in benefit and maximum in risk. National safety guidance is explicit by saying if a vehicle catches fire, you get the occupants out quickly and to a safe place. You do not open the bonnet and you do not attempt to extinguish an engine fire yourself. The instruction is simple. Get out, stay out, and call 999."

The SPHA’s campaign has heavily relied on aligning Scottish practices with evolving UK standards. In England, major licensing authorities, such as Southampton and Milton Keynes, have recently dismantled their extinguisher requirements. This followed clear warnings from insurance bodies that claims could be invalidated if an amateur attempted to fight a fire, alongside updated Best Practice Guidance from the Department for Transport (DfT) and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

Beyond the immediate fire risks, the physical requirement to carry the equipment has caused practical issues for operators. Securing heavy extinguishers often forces vehicle owners to drill directly into fascia panels, bulkheads, or frames. The SPHA pointed out that this structural modification causes permanent damage to the vehicle and risks puncturing hidden wiring or vital electrical systems.

A National Campaign for Uniformity:

While Glasgow’s decision marks a watershed moment, the SPHA emphasises that this is part of a much larger, coordinated effort spanning multiple local authorities and national legislative discussions. "Eliminating this flawed requirement incrementally, authority by authority, is an incredibly impractical way to manage a transport sector," Grice explained. "Unless all councils act simultaneously, we simply create a patchwork of inconsistent rules. That is why the SPHA has been pushing this issue not just in individual committee rooms, but at the national legislative level.

"We are campaigning for fully unified national vehicle standards to guarantee regulatory consistency and safety across the entirety of Scotland."

Overhauling Outdated Conditions

The removal of the extinguishers forms part of a broader modernisation of Glasgow's licensing regime. At meetings held in late 2025 and early 2026, the council's Licensing Section established dedicated Working Groups to completely review conditions that had sat untouched for a decade and a half.

The SPHA was heavily involved throughout this process, securing a seat on the Private Hire Car Working Group alongside council enforcement officers, Police Scotland and select trade representatives to meticulously draft the new framework.

Following a series of summits in the City Chambers between February and April 2026, a comprehensive list of revised conditions was generated. Beyond the fire extinguisher deletion, the secondary updates to the licensing conditions include updates to vehicle operator minimum ages, the use of CCTV, installing protective screens in private hire cars, conditions on vehicle modifications and streamlining rules on taximeters in PHCs.

The final draft of revised conditions was issued to the working groups late last month, with no further amendments sought by the trade. Glasgow City Council's Licensing and Regulatory Committee approved the changes on 10 June 2026 and they will take effect on 1st September.

For the SPHA, however, the successful removal of the fire extinguisher rule serves as a powerful precedent for what targeted, legally-grounded trade representation can achieve for driver safety. Mr Grice concluded: "The campaign continues. We hope to see this same change now take place around the country and our association will continue working to achieve moves towards greater uniformity of standards across the board".

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