On reflection, some felt it needed permit (7)
I believe the answer is:
entitle
'permit' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'on reflection some felt it needed' is the wordplay.
'on reflection' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'some' indicates a hidden word (some of the parts of the word are used).
'eltitne' is hidden in the letters of 'felt it needed'.
'eltitne' reversed gives 'ENTITLE'.
(Other definitions for entitle that I've seen before include "Name; empower" , "Name; enable" , "Call; permit" , "confer rank" , "Furnish with a right or claim" .)