Bury Council is due to decide on Wednesday 11 November 2026 whether a repaired insurance write-off can be licensed as a hackney carriage or a private hire vehicle. The council agenda puts the revised written-off vehicle policy before members at 7pm at Bury Town Hall. The Licensing and Safety Committee has recommended that full council adopt it. Until that vote, the rule still bars any vehicle an insurer has recorded as a write-off.
What the committee recommended
On 8 October the committee approved the option that would permit Category N and Category S vehicles, subject to the safeguards in the report, and recommended that full council adopt the change. That decision is recorded in the 8 October minutes. Members discussed the fact that some authorities accept Category N and not Category S, the need for a high standard of engineering repair, and how the categories sit under government standards.
Category N is non-structural damage that may be repaired and returned to service. Category S is structural damage that may be repaired and returned to the road if the repairs and inspection are satisfactory. Category A and Category B vehicles, which cannot return to the road, are outside the proposal.
The safeguards
The written-off vehicle report would allow a Category N or Category S vehicle to be considered only where the proprietor supplies a report from a Member or Associate Member of the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors, any further inspection the council requires is completed, and licensing officers are satisfied the vehicle is safe, suitable and fit for hire. If the engineer raises a concern about wheel alignment, chassis geometry, suspension integrity or the quality of a structural repair, officers may require an Autolign inspection before the application is decided.
An engineer's report would not create a right to a licence. Officers could still refuse. Age limits, the council's compliance test and routine inspections would all remain.
Why the ban is under review
Bury prohibited every insurance write-off category when it adopted the Greater Manchester minimum licensing standards in 2023. On 16 March 2023 the licensing committee deferred the start of that rule to 1 April 2026, and full council ratified the date on 22 March 2023. In September 2026 the licensing service recorded no private hire vehicle in a write-off category, in a fleet of 710.
The Bury Private Hire Drivers' Association asked for the review. Its letter in the report is about Category N only. Officers then compared Greater Manchester authorities. The report's summary records seven permitting Category N, five permitting Category S, two prohibiting every write-off, and one reviewing its policy. Bury is among the most restrictive.
The licensing service points to rising vehicle prices, insurance premiums, maintenance and wider costs. A repaired and independently certified Category N or Category S vehicle would give drivers a wider choice of lower-cost replacements, including after their own vehicle is written off. A stricter rule than neighbouring authorities may lead proprietors to license elsewhere, and a viable local trade is connected with the number of licensed vehicles available to residents. Existing safety requirements would stay. The engineer's report would be an extra check, and officers could ask for more evidence or refuse an application.
What the trade submitted
The licensing service asked the Trade Liaison Group to consult its members.
GMB's response in the report is that a blanket ban on Category N vehicles is unnecessary once a professional engineer has certified the vehicle as roadworthy, and that allowing them under strict inspection and documentation would give drivers fair access to affordable, safe vehicles.
The National Private Hire and Taxi Association's comments, in the same report, treat Category N as light body damage written off because insurers price original panels and approved repairers. In most cases the insurer offers to sell the vehicle back, because it can be repaired more cheaply with aftermarket parts. The association's example is a front wing, bumper and headlight, with aftermarket repairs put at between £500 and £1,000 where the insurance repair exceeds the vehicle's value. A driver can buy the car back, repair it, pass an MOT and use it on the road, and still be unable to license it in Bury. The gap between an insurance payout and the cost of a replacement applies to private hire and to hackney carriages, and more sharply to hackneys because of the purchase price. A vehicle's second-hand value drops once it leaves the workshop, and a payout that falls short of a replacement can put a driver out of business if the repaired vehicle cannot be licensed again.
If the ban stays
The report treats a continued ban as the more cautious position, and as one that would leave Bury out of step with most of Greater Manchester, keep the pressure on drivers looking for an affordable replacement, and risk proprietors licensing with a neighbouring authority.
No direct cost to the council is identified, other than the risk of appeal costs in the magistrates' courts or the Crown Court. Licensing is paid for by fees. Each application would be dealt with on its own merits, with no positive or negative effect on protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.