can i take cuttings off my privet hedge now?

Privet will grow quite easily from the cuttings, you may find some new growth has roots at the base.

You can take hardwood cuttings now. Use the current year's shoots about 12 inches long, make a slot in the ground about 8 inches deep and insert the cuttings.Firm the soil back around them. You could put the cuttings where you want them to grow to save effort later. Put in twice as many as you neeed to allow for failures and thin the successful plants a couple of years later. Don't forget to water them for the first year.