# English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, Section 86: Interpretation

Extent: E+W
Status: prospective

In this Chapter—
“enforcement area”, in relation to an enforcement officer, means both of the following—
(a) the area of the licensing authority which appointed or authorised the officer, in relation to the suspension of any regulated licence;
(b) the whole of the rest of England, but only in relation to the suspension of a regulated licence granted by the licensing authority which appointed or authorised the officer;
“enforcement officer” has the meaning given in section section 82(1);
“licence suspension provisions” means sections 76 to 82 and this section;
“licensing authority”, in relation to a regulated licence, means a public authority which has licensing functions under—
(a) sections 37 to 68 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847;
(b) the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869;
(c) the Plymouth City Council Act 1975;
(d) Part 2 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976;
(e) the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998;
“national standards” has the meaning given in section 70;
“PHV driver licence” is a licence under—
(a) section 51 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976,
(b) section 13 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, or
(c) section 9 of the Plymouth City Council Act 1975;
“PHV operator licence” is a licence under—
(a) section 55 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976,
(b) section 3 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, or
(c) section 13 of the Plymouth City Council Act 1975;
“PHV vehicle licence” is a licence under—
(a) section 48 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976,
(b) section 7 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, or
(c) section 5 of the Plymouth City Council Act 1975;
“regulated driver licence” means—
(a) a taxi driver licence, or
(b) a PHV driver licence,
granted by a licensing authority in England;
“regulated licence” means—
(a) a taxi driver licence,
(b) a taxi vehicle licence,
(c) a PHV driver licence,
(d) a PHV vehicle licence, or
(e) a PHV operator licence,
granted by a licensing authority in England;
“regulated PHV operator licence” means a PHV operator granted by a licensing authority in England;
“regulated vehicle licence” means—
(a) a taxi vehicle licence, or
(b) a PHV vehicle licence,
granted by a licensing authority in England;
“relevant vehicle” means a vehicle that an enforcement officer reasonably believes is licensed by—
(a) a taxi vehicle licence, or
(b) a PHV vehicle licence;
“responsible licensing authority”, in relation to a regulated licence, means the licensing authority with the power to revoke the licence;
“standard” includes—
(a) a requirement, and
(b) a condition;
“suspension notice” means notice of a suspension given in accordance with section 77(2);
“taxi driver licence” is a licence under—
(a) section 46 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, or
(b) section 8 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869;
“taxi vehicle licence” is a licence under—
(a) section 37 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, or
(b) section 6 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/23/section/86 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/english-devolution-and-community-empowerment-act-2026/section-86
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.