Agenda and draft minutes

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

The minutes of the previous meeting of the Licensing Committee, held on 24 February 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.

There were no updates to be provided.

NOTED

There were no urgent items.

NOTED

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 Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Hackney Carriage Driver Licence, Ref: 07/25, 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, accompanied by his representative, 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 appeared before Members in relation to a matter affecting his medical suitability to continue as a licensed driver. 

The driver was first licensing with Middlesbrough Council in March 1993, with his current licence renewed in September 2023 for a three-year period.

Members were reminded that, as part of it Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing Policy, the Council required all drivers to comply with the DVLA Group 2 Medical Standards.  This was a higher medical standard that than required of drivers of other motor vehicles and was required due to the length of time the driver may spend at the wheel and the responsibility they had for the safety of their passengers and the public.  The imposition of such medical standards was in line with the Department for Transport guidelines and were commonly applied by all other licensing authorities throughout the country.  These medical standards were the same as those applied to drivers of buses and heavy goods vehicles.

The report outlined that, on 8 November 2023, the driver contacted the Licensing Office by email to advise that he had been admitted to hospital on 25 October 2023 with a heart problem.  He was seeking information about the possible implications this might have on his Hackney Carriage driver licence.  He also notified Licensing that he had informed the DVLA and that they had advised him that he should refrain from driving for a period of four weeks, in accordance with medical standards.

The Principal Licensing Officer contacted the driver to seek clarification of the actual medical condition he was being treated for and provided him with a copy of the DVLA Group 2 Medical Standards and asked him to check with his doctor whether he would still meet the standards.  The driver confirmed his diagnosis.

On 6 December 2024, the driver notified Licensing Officers that he had undergone surgery on 4 December to fit a pacemaker and defibrillator.  Officers subsequently assessed the Group 2 Medical Standards which state that an individual must not drive for at least six weeks following a pacemaker implantation and inform the DVLA.  The Standards further state that a defibrillator implant was a permanent bar to Group 2 licensing and that driving must stop permanently.

As a result of the above, the Licensing Manager had no alternative other than to suspend the driver’s Hackney Carriage driver licence with immediate effect.  A copy of the relevant correspondence was attached at Appendix 1.

On 28 January 2025,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/77

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 08/25, 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 stating that the driver appeared before Members due to the convictions listed at 1) and 2) in the submitted report.

It was highlighted that the applicant had answered ‘no’ to the question on the application form regarding having any cautions, criminal convictions, etc.

The applicant submitted his application on 3 October 2024 and, on 11 December 2024, provided a DBS Disclosure Certificate showing the two convictions recorded against him.

The applicant was contacted by the Licensing Enforcement Officer on 2 January 2025 advising him that his application would need to be considered by the Licensing Committee due to his convictions and on 3 January 2025, the Licensing Officer emailed the application requesting as much information as possible in relation to both offences.  The driver responded the same day providing details of both offences.

On 9 January 2025 the Principal Licensing Officer contacted South Yorkshire Police requesting information regarding the offences, particularly the offence at 2) and subsequently discovered local media coverage of the incident, which was appended to the report.  Full details of correspondence exchanges between the Principal Licensing Officer and Police were contained in the report.

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 application.

The applicant was invited to address the Committee in support of his application and responded to questions from Members of the Committee and the Council’s Legal Representative.

It was confirmed that there were no further questions and the applicant, and Officers of the Council, other than representatives of the Council’s Legal and Democratic Services teams, withdrew from the meeting whilst the Committee determined the review. 

Subsequently, all parties returned, and the Chair announced a summary of the Committee’s decision and highlighted that the driver would receive the full decision and reasons within five working days.

ORDERED that the application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence, Ref No: 08/25, be granted, as follows:-

Authority to Act

1.     Under Section 51 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 (“the Act”) the Committee may decide to grant a Private Hire Vehicle driver’s licence only if it was satisfied the driver was a fit and proper person to be granted such a licence.

2.     The Committee considered Section 51 of the Act, the Middlesbrough Council Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Policy 2022 (“the Policy”), the report and representations made by the applicant.

3.     The application was considered on its own particular  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/78

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 09/25, 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 stating that the driver appeared before Members due to the convictions listed at 1) and 2) in the submitted report.

The applicant was first licensed with Middlesbrough Council in March 2024, with his licence expiring on 28 February 2025.

Records showed that the driver was issued with an advisory letter on 12 June 2024 following a report that he had been observed parked in his private hire vehicle on a designated taxi rank.

On 9 December 2024, the driver contacted the Licensing Office by telephone to report that he had received three penalty points on his DVLA licence for a speeding offence.  The Licensing Officer requested that the driver report the matter, in writing, as required by condition of his private hire driver licence.  The driver emailed later the same day attaching a DVLA check, dated 9 December 2024, relating to the status of his driving licence which showed an IN10 offence, dated 16 February 2024, (using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks) recorded against him.  At that time the DVLA check showed no record of the speeding offence that the driver referred to in his earlier telephone conversation with the officer.  A subsequent check of the driver’s file showed no record of him previously notifying officers of his IN10 motoring offence within 48 hours as required by condition of his private hire driver licence.

In addition, the applicant had answered ‘No’ to the question contained within the application form regarding cautions and convictions.

On 19 February 2025, a Licensing Officer carried out a DVLA check on the status of his driving licence.  On this occasion the DVLA check revealed both the IN10 offence and the SP30 offence recorded against him, with a total of 9 penalty points shown on his driving licence record.

On 26 February 2025, the applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer and provided his explanation in relation to the offences at 1) and 2) and why he had failed to inform licensing officers of such matters within the required timescale, and for making a false declaration in his renewal application.

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 application.

The applicant was invited to address the Committee in support of his application and responded to questions from Members of the Committee and the Council’s Legal Representative.

It was confirmed that there were no further questions and the applicant, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/79