Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest made by Members at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 1 September 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Principal Public Protection Officer (Licensing) updated that a Private Hire Vehicle driver licence was recently revoked, with immediate effect, under delegated powers, as he no longer met the Group 2 Medical Standards following a medical incident involving a defibrillator.

NOTED

There were no urgent items.

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 X, X 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 Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for the renewal of a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 29/25, 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 accompanied by his representative, verified his name and address and confirmed he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents. 

The Principal Public Protection Officer (Licensing) presented a summary of the report outlining the applicant’s licensing history.  The applicant was first licensed with Middlesbrough Council in 2003 and had previously appeared before Members, as follows:-

·        16 July 2007 – Licence retained but issued with a warning regarding future conduct and required to complete the Driver Improvement Scheme.

·        15 March 2010 – Licence suspended until successful completion of the Driver Improvement Scheme.

·        10 May 2010 – Suspension lifted following successful completion of the Driver Improvement Scheme.

·        5 December 2016 – Licence revoked due to repeated concerns about his driving standards.  The applicant appealed the decision to the Magistrates Court and this was dismissed in April 2017. 

·        24 April 2023 – Application refused on the grounds that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

The applicant now appeared before Members with a fresh application, submitted on 3 June 2025, due to the offences at 1) and 2) in the report and other matters recorded against him.  It was further highlighted that he had failed to declare his previous refusals and convictions within his application.  Whilst a DBS disclosure certificate (dated May 2025), provided by the applicant, showed no convictions recorded against him, a DVLA check by Officers revealed the motoring endorsements set out at 1) and 2). 

The applicant was interviewed by Licensing Officers on 14 July 2025 when he provided an explanation in relation to the offences at 1) and 2) and information to support his application, details of which were provided in the report.

Following the interview, it occurred to Officers that the applicant had made no reference to the fact that he had a previous application for a Private Hire Vehicle driver licence refused by the Committee in April 2023 and had also failed to declare any previous convictions in his application.  A Licensing Officer followed this up with the applicant by telephone on 5 August 2025 and the applicant advised that his application was completed online by a Training Scheme organisation and that they had not asked him those questions.

The applicant confirmed the content of the report as being an accurate representation of the facts and was invited to address the Committee in support of his case.

The applicant’s representative presented the case in support of the applicant and, together with the applicant, responded to questions from Members of the Committee, the Licensing Manager and the Council’s Legal Representative.

At this point in the meeting the Chair called  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/38

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 30/25, 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 Principal Public Protection Officer (Licensing) presented a summary of the report stating that the applicant appeared before Members due to the convictions detailed at 1) to 4) in the submitted report and confirmed that the applicant had disclosed his convictions on his application form.

The applicant was interviewed by Licensing Officers on 12 August 2025 when he provided explanations in relation to the offences at 1) to 4) and confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware.  It was highlighted that, prior to the interview, Licensing Officers discussed the offences at 1) to 4) with the applicant and advised that, in accordance with Middlesbrough Council’s Policy Guidance, a licence would not normally be granted until a period of 10 years had lapsed, however, the applicant still wished to proceed.

The applicant had provided several documents which were attached at Appendix 1, as follows:-

·        Rehabilitation Timeline.

·        Personal Statement.

·        Character Reference from applicant’s father.

·        Character Reference from applicant’s wife.

·        Character Reference from applicant’s brother.

·        Character Reference from a legal advisor.

The report outlined that, in 2017, the applicant had rented a vehicle from a male, who was unknown to him, via an advert on social media site ‘Snapchat’.  He collected the vehicle from the male, in Bradford, after agreeing a price to rent it for five days.  Two days before the vehicle was due to be returned, the applicant had allowed a friend to use it and his friend was subsequently involved in a road traffic accident causing significant damage to the vehicle.

Due to the applicant being the only one insured to drive the vehicle at the time of the accident, he accepted responsibility for the repairs at a cost of £13,000 - £14,000.  The applicant made an agreement with the male from whom he had rented the vehicle to pay back the debt in instalments.  The applicant had fallen behind with the agreed payment schedule due to him trying to work whilst studying full time at University.

The applicant informed Officers about an incident that had occurred in November 2017 at his home address, whereby his mother and younger brother had returned home to find three unknown males, wearing balaclavas in their home.  One of the males threatened the applicant’s mother at knifepoint before leaving.  The applicant believes this was connected to the car rental accident.  The applicant also received threats to his own phone stating more bad things would happen if he did not pay the money owed.

The applicant subsequently decided to leave Middlesbrough and discontinue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/39