Democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Joanne Dixon / Scott Bonner 

Items
No. Item

21/21

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

21/22

Minutes of the Previous Licensing Committee - 6 September 2021 pdf icon PDF 213 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 6 September 2021 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

 

21/23

Exclusion of Press and Public

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.

Minutes:

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.

 

21/24

Review - Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 07/21

Minutes:

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 07/21, 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, accompanied by his son, was in attendance at the meeting and verified his name and address and confirmed that he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents. 

 

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report in relation to the motoring convictions detailed at 1) to 3) in the report and three complaints made in relation to the driver’s driving standards by members of the public. 

 

The report highlighted that the driver first appeared before the Licensing Committee in January 2010 when Members considered a non-motoring related offence that is now considered too old to be of relevance.  On that occasion Members refused the application.

 

The driver again appeared before Members in April 2012 when the same offence was considered, however, on that occasion he was granted a licence with a warning that any further convictions would result in a review of his licence by the Licensing Committee.

 

The driver now appeared before Members in relation to three motoring offences, detailed at 1) to 3) in the report, and three separate complaints made by members of the public in relation to his driving standards.

 

The driver was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer and provided explanations for the offences at 1) to 3) and in relation to the complaints. 

 

Members were advised that the driver was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 2 March 2021 and provided his version of events in relation to the complaint.

 

The first complaint was made to the Licensing Office on 1 August 2021 and related to an incident on 31 July 2021 when the driver had been involved in a road traffic collision with the complainant.  The complainant stated that the driver had refused to provide his contact details following the collision.

 

On 20 August 2021, Officer requested that the driver attend the Driver Improvement Scheme, in accordance with Council policy, due to the fact that the driver had accrued nine penalty points on his DVLA licence.  A copy of the assessor’s report was attached at Appendix 1.

 

A second complaint was made to the Licensing Office on 25 August 2021 relating to an incident on 24 August 2021 when it was alleged that the driver had forced his way past the complainant’s vehicle, whilst stationary at traffic lights, causing the driver to drive on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic, and catching the complainant’s wing mirror.  A photograph of the incident was provided by the complainant and attached at Appendix 2.

 

A further complaint was received on 31 August 2021 in relation to an incident on 27 August 2021 where the complainant had been a passenger in the driver’s vehicle  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/24

21/25

Review - Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 09/21

Minutes:

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 09/21, 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, accompanied by his wife, was in attendance at the meeting and verified his name and address and confirmed that he had received a copy of the report and understood its contents. 

 

The Licensing Manager presented a summary of the report in relation to the application.  The applicant was previously licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle driver in July 2014, however, his licence was revoked by the Licensing Committee in September 2018 following consideration of 14 penalty points on his licence in relation to three speeding convictions and also a warning issued by an Officer in relation to his driving standards.

 

The applicant now appeared before Members with a fresh application.  He was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 24 September 2021 when he provided explanations in relation to the offences detailed at 1) to 3) in the submitted report and confirmed that there were no other issues of which the Council was unaware.

 

The applicant confirmed that the report was an accurate representation of the facts and was invited to address the Committee in support of his application.

 

The applicant addressed the Committee in support of the application and responded to questions from Members, the Licensing Manager and the Council’s legal representative.   The applicant’s wife also spoke in support of the applicant.

 

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

 

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

 

ORDERED that the application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref 09/21 be granted with a warning in relation to his future conduct.

 

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, Policy Guidance to Applicants, Licensed Drivers and Members of the Licensing Committee which came into force on 1 November 2019 (“the Policy”), the report and representations made by the applicant.

3.    The application was considered on its own particular facts and on its merits.

 

 

Decision

 

4.    After carefully considering all of the information the Licensing Committee decided to grant the application for a combined hackney carriage and private hire vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that the Committee was satisfied the applicant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/25

21/26

Review - Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 08/21

Minutes:

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 08/21, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

 

The Council’s legal representative advised the Committee that the driver had his previous licence revoked in 2018 following his conviction for the offence at 2) in the report, however, it was considered that there was insufficient information contained in the report and that the matter should be deferred to the next meeting in order for the Committee to be provided with all of the relevant additional information.

 

ORDERED that consideration of the application for a Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle driver licence, Ref No 08/21, be deferred to the next meeting of the Licensing Committee in order for all relevant information to be provided to Members.

21/27

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

Minutes:

Reporting of Offences

 

A discussion took place around concerns expressed by Members in relation to ensuring drivers reported any offences to the Licensing Office within seven days, as conditioned by their licence.

 

The Committee requested that, in future, all submitted reports contain confirmation as to whether the offences had been reported to the Licensing Office in accordance with the condition of their licence.

 

NOTED