1st September 2026
For most people in Highland, 1 September is simply the start of another month. But today also marks the beginning of two changes introduced by Highland Council which will affect different groups of residents.
One is a new requirement for private-hire car drivers. The other is much more familiar: the start of the new garden-waste collection year.
Neither is likely to make national headlines, but both show how local government decisions can have very practical consequences.
Private-hire drivers now face a knowledge test
The biggest regulatory change is the introduction of a knowledge test for new private-hire car drivers licensed by Highland Council.
From today, anyone applying for the grant of a new private-hire car driver's licence must pass the test before a licence can be issued. The requirement also applies to existing drivers who allow their licence to lapse and then apply again.
However, drivers who already hold a Highland private-hire licence and apply to renew it before their current licence expires do not have to take the test.
The test is based on the system already used for Highland taxi drivers.
Applicants must complete a Highland-wide section and one local-area section, normally covering the area where they live or intend to operate.
The pass mark is 75% for the Highland-wide section and 85% for the local section.
That means somebody wanting to become a private-hire driver in Caithness, for example, will need to demonstrate knowledge of the wider Highland area as well as the relevant local area.
Why has the Council introduced it?
The issue has been around for years.
Highland Council has long required taxi drivers to demonstrate local knowledge, but private-hire drivers have not previously faced the same requirement.
The Council revisited the question following concerns from parts of the trade about drivers coming into the area without sufficient knowledge of local roads and destinations. The Council's own report noted concerns that some drivers were relocating to Highland to work as private-hire drivers without necessarily having the expected level of local knowledge.
The Licensing Committee eventually decided in September 2025 to introduce the test, with 1 September 2026 chosen as the start date.
There is a straightforward argument in favour.
A passenger getting into a private-hire car should reasonably expect the driver to know how to get around the area. That becomes particularly important in Highland, where journeys can involve long distances, isolated communities, complicated rural roads and destinations that may be unfamiliar to somebody who has recently moved into the area.
It is also about public confidence.
If taxis have to meet a knowledge standard but private-hire cars do not, passengers could reasonably ask why the two types of licensed service are being treated differently.
But there is another side to the argument
Highland has a transport problem which is rather different from that of a major city.
In Inverness, losing a few private-hire drivers might be inconvenient. In a small Caithness community, losing even one or two can make a noticeable difference.
Private-hire cars are used not simply for nights out. They can provide an important service for people travelling to railway stations, airports, hospitals, shops, workplaces and appointments.
For some residents without access to a car, they are part of the transport network.
That creates a difficult balancing act for Highland Council.
Nobody wants poorly prepared drivers carrying passengers. But additional licensing requirements can also make it harder for people to enter an industry which some communities already struggle to support.
The Council therefore needs to make sure that the test is genuinely about competence and passenger safety, rather than becoming an unnecessary barrier to people who could otherwise provide a useful service.
The numbers show why this matters
Highland Council's 2025 report recorded 345 licensed private-hire car drivers across the Highland Council area.
The breakdown included 30 in Wick and 34 in Golspie, alongside much larger numbers in Inverness and smaller numbers in other Highland areas.
That gives some idea of the potential significance for Caithness.
The numbers are not enormous in the first place.
If the new requirement discourages some potential drivers from applying, the effect may be felt disproportionately in smaller communities.
On the other hand, if the test improves the quality and reliability of the service, passengers may ultimately regard the additional requirement as worthwhile.
The success of the policy will therefore depend on what happens in practice.
Garden waste enters a new year
There is a rather less controversial change today for householders.
Highland Council's 2026/27 garden-waste permit year begins on 1 September and runs until 31 August 2027.
The cost remains £48.95 for a permit and brown bin, with the Council freezing the price for the second consecutive year.
Collections take place every two weeks, although there are no collections during December, January and February.
The Council says the service normally provides between 19 and 20 collections during the year, depending on the local schedule.
For households that use the service, the price freeze will be welcome at a time when councils themselves are under considerable financial pressure.
It is also worth remembering that the garden-waste service is not included in Council Tax. It is an optional paid service.
Two very different changes
It is interesting to put these two decisions alongside each other.
One is about regulation. Highland Council is imposing an additional qualification on people who want to work as private-hire drivers.
The other is about a paid council service. The Council has chosen not to increase the price of garden-waste collection for another year.
Both reflect the difficult choices facing local government.
Highland Council has to maintain standards and protect the public, while at the same time trying not to make it unnecessarily difficult for businesses and individuals to operate.
That is particularly important in a region where distances are long, populations are dispersed and providing services can be considerably more expensive than in urban areas.
Will the driver test make Highland's service better?
That is the question worth watching.
The principle behind the test is difficult to argue with. A professional driver carrying passengers should know the area in which they operate.
But there is a difference between setting a sensible professional standard and creating another obstacle to recruitment.
Highland Council should therefore keep the policy under review and look at the results rather than simply assume that passing a test automatically produces a better service.
Are passengers getting better service?
Are complaints falling?
Are new drivers still entering the industry?
Are some communities finding it harder to obtain private-hire cars?
Those are the measures that will tell us whether the policy has worked.
For Caithness in particular, the last question may be just as important as the first.
A driver who knows every road in the area is useful.
But a perfectly qualified driver who isn't available when somebody needs a lift is not much use at all.
That is the balance Highland Council now has to get right.