Surrendering your licence will mean that it ceases to have effect, and therefore when you want to resume work you will have to apply for a new licence with all the requirements that involves
You are not obliged to use your licence therefore you may simply choose to take your vehicle off the road whilst the current emergency restrictions are in place. There is no need to advise the Council of this.
Should you choose to take your vehicle off the road, and cancel your existing insurance, then you must give notice to the Council of this by means of an email detailing the plate number, the date and time the vehicle was taken off the road, the date your insurance was cancelled, whether you intend using the vehicle for domestic purposes, and attach a copy of the insurance cover for domestic purposes if appropriate. Once that notification has been given, and if you have provided proof of domestic insurance, then you will be granted a temporary relaxation of the requirements to display plates/door badges/roof box in order that these may be removed from the vehicle so it no longer looks like a ‘taxi’. However please be warned that although the vehicle is no longer ‘working’ it may still only be driven by a dual licence holder as it remains a licensed vehicle.
Once you decide to resume working then you must notify the Council of that fact by email giving detail of your plate number, the date and time you intend to resume working, confirmation that you have re-instated plates/door badges/roof-box, and produce a valid certificate of insurance to cover hackney/private hire use.
You are strongly advised to speak with your insurance company before taking this course of action as it may have some bearing on your future premiums, for example loss of no claims.
Important: If, having given notice of your intention to take the vehicle off the road, you are found to be using/have used the vehicle for work purposes before notifying the Council you are resuming work, and have supplied a notice to that effect as above, then you can expect your vehicle licence and dual drivers licence to be revoked immediately and you will be liable to prosecution.