Posted on the 3rd July 2026 in PHTM News

BRIGHTON COUNCIL FORCED INTO TRANSPARENCY U-TURN ON TAXI LICENSING REPORTS

Brighton and Hove City Council has backed down and agreed to reinstate regular licensing updates following fierce complaints from opposition councillors who claimed they were being kept completely in the dark.

The row erupted after the council switched from a committee-led system to a cabinet model two years ago. Since the change, routine details regarding enforcement action against taxi drivers, reviews of pub and club premises licences, and annual licensing reports were quietly dropped. Opponents argued this shift severely damaged political transparency, especially given that the cross-party Licensing Committee is legally required by law to oversee these matters.

The issue came to a head at Hove Town Hall on Thursday, June 18, when the Licensing Committee met for the first time since November 2025. The meeting featured just one short four-page report and wrapped up in less than 10 minutes, following the cancellation of a previous meeting in February due to a total lack of agenda items.

Green Councillor Ollie Sykes challenged the administration during the brief session, questioning why members were being starved of data.

"We no longer seem to be considering important regulatory matters that previously came to this committee," Sykes said, noting that updates on hackney carriage monitoring and appeals had not been seen since early 2023, while the annual report had been missing since June 2024.

He added: “Our concern is that this is another example of the difficulty even councillors have accessing information and a general lack of openness in this administration.”

Other opposition members joined the criticism. Independent Councillor Samer Bagaeen called the empty agenda "not acceptable and careless," while Conservative Councillor Ivan Lyons pointed out that the 2025 annual report was still missing, stating: "businesses and daily lives continue."

Initially, the council defended the move, explaining that the reporting requirements were altered in 2023 on the advice of council officers. Officials stressed that consultation with the taxi trade had continued through other forums and that a comprehensive policy review had been published.

However, following the backlash, the new Labour chair of the committee, Councillor Andrei Czolak, reviewed the decision. The council subsequently reversed its stance, admitting that after "taking into account Local Government Association guidance," the detailed enforcement and annual reports will return to future committee meetings.

While opposition politicians welcomed the quick U-turn, they remain critical of how the information was stopped in the first place. Green Councillor Kerry Pickett described the quiet removal of the reports as "shocking," arguing it showed a lack of respect for taxi drivers and local processes.

Pickett concluded: “The Licensing Committee is a cross-party board of councillors and it is essential that we are all party to all information related to licensing.

"Finally, we would like to question as to why it was thought necessary to abandon these reports and whose decision was it to do so?”


Read another story