Licence not paid for by government, we're told (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
free rein
'licence' is the definition.
(licence can mean free rein or permission)
'not paid for by government we're told' is the wordplay.
'not paid for' becomes 'free' (free of charge).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'government' becomes 'reign'.
'we're told' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'reign' sounds like 'rein'.
'free'+'rein'='FREE REIN'
(Other definitions for free rein that I've seen before include "Liberty over actions" , "Carte blanche" , "Give it to remove all constraints" , "Unlimited scope for action" , "'The removal of constraints (4,4)'" .)