Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed those present and highlighted the Council’s Fire Evacuation Procedure.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 13 October 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Licensing Officer will provide a verbal update, if applicable, on any licensing appeals that have been made since the last meeting of the Committee.

The Licensing Manager advised Members that since the previous Committee meeting, under Delegated Powers, Officers had revoked two Private Hire Vehicle driver licences, with immediate effect.

The first driver’s licence was revoked on 20 October 2025 following notification from Cleveland Police that the driver had been arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault of a female passenger.

The second driver’s licence was revoked on 29 October 2025 following notification from Cleveland Police that the driver had been arrested in connection with cannabis production and money laundering offences.

In response to a query, it was confirmed that taxi driving was a notifiable occupation, therefore, the Police automatically notified the Licensing Department of any arrests made of taxi drivers.

NOTED

Any other urgent items which in the opinion of the Chair, may be considered.

There were no urgent items to be considered.

To consider passing a Resolution Pursuant to Section 100A (4) Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the grounds that if present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information falling within paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

ORDERED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that, if present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Licensing Manager advised that the applicant was not in attendance and had notified the Licensing Department that he now wished to withdraw his application, therefore, there was no application to be considered.

NOTED

** ORDER OF BUSINESS - SUSPENSION OF COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE No. 4.13.2

ORDERED: that in accordance with the Council’s Constitution Procedure Rules, paragraph 4.30.1(c), the Committee agreed to vary the order of business to consider the agenda items as follows: Agenda items 10, 9, 11 and 12.

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 35/25, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

The Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The applicant, who was in attendance at the meeting, verified his name and address and confirmed he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents. 

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report outlining that the applicant was previously licensed with Middlesbrough Council from August 2018 until 5 December 2022 when his licence was revoked by Officers following his arrest for cannabis possession on 23 November 2022.

In summary, the applicant was stopped by Police on 23 November 2022 whilst driving a Private Hire Vehicle and was carrying one adult male passenger.  Upon stopping the vehicle, Police Officers detected the smell of cannabis, and a subsequent search of the vehicle discovered approximately 22kg of cannabis.

Following receipt of the Police disclosure, a Licensing Officer contacted the driver by telephone on 28 November 2022 to discuss the matter before the decision was taken to revoke his Private Hire Vehicle driver licence with immediate effect.

A copy of the Police disclosure, dated 25 November 2022, and revocation letter, dated 5 December 2022, were attached at Appendices 1 and 2.

On 10 January 2023, the driver received notification from Cumbria Police that no further action would be taken against him in relation to the offence.  A copy was attached at Appendix 3.

The applicant now appeared before Members with a fresh application.

The applicant was interviewed by Licensing Officers on 14 August 2025 when he confirmed that there were no other outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware and provided an explanation in relation to his arrest in November 2022.

During interview, the applicant stated that when he was stopped by the Police, he had been unable to smell cannabis in the vehicle due to suffering from a virus causing him to lose his sense of smell.  He advised Officers that he had previously visited his GP on 14 and 17 November 2022 in connection with these symptoms and provided a letter from his GP, dated 1 March 2023, in support of his application.  This was attached at Appendix 4.

The applicant also highlighted that he had emailed the Licensing Department, on 15 February 2023, highlighting a number of factual errors within the revocation letter (dated 5 December 2022).  A copy of which was attached at Appendix 5.

The applicant confirmed the content of the report as being an accurate representation of the facts but wished to point out that, in relation to the incident in 2022, the passenger had asked him for his telephone number.

In response to a query on the report regarding the date of the application being made on 12 August 2024, it was confirmed that this was correct and that the delay in the applicant being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/54

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 34/25, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

The Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The driver, who was in attendance at the meeting, verified his name and address and confirmed he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents. 

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report stating that the driver appeared before Members for review of his licence due to information received on 9 September 2025 from an off-duty Chief Inspector at Cleveland Police in relation to an incident on 7 September 2025.

The report detailed the driver’s history and showed that he first applied to Middlesbrough Council for a Private Hire Vehicle driver licence in June 2014.  Due to information disclosed at the time, his application was referred to the Licensing Committee on 11 August 2014, when his licence was granted.

It was highlighted that, on 1 October 2021, the driver had notified the Licensing Department that he had received six penalty points on his DVLA licence for poor driving standards.  On 22 October 2021, the driver completed a driver improvement scheme which included additional training around road traffic conditions, speed limits and road signs.

On 12 May 2023, Officers suspended the driver’s licence due to concerns around his health in accordance with the DVLA Medical Group 2 Standards, the details of which were outlined in a letter attached at Appendix 1.

Officers contacted the driver on 1 June 2023 regarding a letter received from his GP.  As Officers were satisfied that all matters leading to the suspension had been resolved, and as a result of the information contained in the letter from his GP, the suspension was lifted that same day.

The driver now appeared before Members in relation to an incident on 7 September 2025 which was reported to the Licensing Department by an off-duty Police Chief Inspector.  The Chief Inspector had observed the driver, sitting in the driver’s seat of his taxi, parked in a public parking space, with another male in the passenger seat.  Both appeared to be inhaling what he believed to be Nitrous Oxide from balloons.

The Chief Inspector provided the Licensing Department with a statement and photographs of the driver and his vehicle.  These were attached at Appendix 2.

The driver was invited to attend an interview with Licensing Officers on 17 September 2025 but Officers were subsequently informed that he was unable to attend as he had been the victim of an assault.  A further appointment was made and the driver was interviewed on 19 September 2025 when he provided explanations in relation to the incident on 7 September and the assault on 17 September 2025.  He confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware. 

In relation to the incident on 7 September, the driver stated that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/55

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 36/25, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

The Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The applicant, who attended the meeting, verified his name and address and confirmed he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents.

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report stating that the applicant appeared before Members due to convictions at 1) in the submitted report.

The applicant was interviewed by Licensing Officers on 3 September 2025.  During the interview the applicant confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware. 

In relation to the convictions at 1), the applicant explained that on 1 January 2021, he had been at a friend’s house and, whilst driving home, at approximately 02:00, he was followed and subsequently stopped by the Police.  The Police Officer informed him that he had been stopped due to the manner of his breaking and initially thought he was a food delivery driver.

The applicant reported that he provided his details and driving licence and undertook a breathalyser test.  He claimed that the Police Officer became forceful and requested a second test, at which point he panicked and fled, returning to his friend’s house and leaving his car behind.

At approximately 04:00 the Police Officer attended the applicant’s home address and spoke to his mother, requesting that that the applicant contact him upon his return.  The applicant stated that he later called the Police Officer, who was off duty, and they agreed to meet in four days when the Police Officer returned to work.  The applicant attended the police station as agreed and admitted, due to the police officer’s attitude with his mother, he displayed some attitude during the meeting.  He stated that he was not arrested at the time and could not recall being charged or informed of prosecution. 

In May 2021, the applicant received a letter from the Magistrates Court requiring him to attend a hearing.  At the hearing, he was advised that the matter was serious and would be referred to Crown Court.  At Crown Court, the police officer alleged that the applicant had evaded police for four days, which the applicant disputed, providing text messages showing he had agreed to attend the police station once the Police Officer was back on duty.  The applicant stated that the Crown Court imposed a 12-month driving ban because he had evaded custody, despite not being prosecuted for drink driving.  He expressed regret for running away, explaining that he panicked at the time.

The applicant also advised that he was currently unemployed and wished to become a taxi driver because he enjoyed driving, wanted to work independently, and preferred flexible hours.

Following the interview, the Licensing Officer conducted an internet search regarding the applicant’s Crown Court case.  This revealed several newspaper articles  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/56

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 37/25, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

The Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The applicant, who attended the meeting, verified his name and address and confirmed he had received a copy of the report and understood its content.

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report stating that the applicant appeared before Members due to offences 1) to 4) in the submitted report.  Those offences were declared by the applicant on his application form.

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Officer on 10 September 2025.  At that time, he confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware and provided an explanation in relation to the offences at 1) to 4) in the report.

The applicant had explained that all four offences arose from a single incident on 26 February 2017 when he had travelled with his wife and young daughter to attend a family wedding.  He highlighted that the wedding was a non-alcoholic event due to religious observance.

After returning to the hotel, in the early hours of the morning, his wife experienced breathing difficulties and could not locate her inhaler.  Concerned for her health, given her history of severe asthma and previous collapse requiring emergency services, he contacted his sister, who confirmed that the inhaler had been left at her home, around ten minutes away by car.

The applicant stated that, acting out of urgency, he drove his wife’s vehicle to retrieve the inhaler, despite not being insured to do so.  While unfamiliar with the area, he became lost and was subsequently stopped by the police.  He explained that while the police officers conducted checks, he attempted to contact his wife but received no response, which caused him to panic.  He claimed that he requested police assistance to return to the hotel, which was refused, and as a result, he became uncooperative, telling police officers not to touch him and refusing to provide a breath specimen.

The applicant was arrested and held overnight.  He confirmed that he did not physically resist arrest but admitted to being emotionally unresponsive.  He refused legal assistance and was later charged with multiple offences.  He explained that he missed his initial court date due to international travel for a family funeral in but attended court immediately upon his return, where he pleaded guilty to all charges and accepted full responsibility.

The applicant expressed deep remorse for his actions and acknowledged his emotions compromised his judgement.  He stated that he completed a four-week rehabilitation programme through probation services, which included legal education and behavioural training.  He confirmed that he had no further contact with the police since the incident and had lived in the United Kingdom for 23 years with no other arrests.

At the time of the incident, the applicant was employed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/57