Any question answered...

If you have lost the paper part of your licence you can call the DVLA and ask for a certificate of entitlement, they will charge you £5 for the privilege and will insist on faxing it to you however it does prove that your licence is valid and should be accepted by a car hire company. Although it may be worth checking with the car hire company first before you hand over the £5.

Also the hire car company will have a DVLA number they can call to check you out if you have lost the paper bit of the licence- again they will charge you a fiver for this.