To receive any declarations of interest.

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

The Minutes of the previous Licensing Committee held on 20 December 2021 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

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 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: 13/21, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

It was highlighted that the matter had been due for consideration at the previous meeting of the Licensing Committee on 20 December 2021, however, the driver had been unable to attend due to illness.

The driver had contacted the Licensing Office on the morning of the meeting to advise that he was again unwell.  With the driver’s consent, arrangements were made for him to join the meeting virtually.  The Licensing Manager was also permitted to attend the meeting by virtual means due to awaiting results of a Covid PCR test.

Once the driver confirmed that he was able to see and hear proceedings, the Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The driver 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.  It was highlighted that the driver was first licensed with Middlesbrough Council in September 2007 and first appeared before Committee in December 2019 as a result of the offence detailed at 1) in the report and also in relation to a complaint received from the Deputy Manager of a Centre for children with disabilities.

The complaint related to the driver’s standard of driving.  A school transport vehicle had been dropping off four young people at the centre and whilst the school bus driver was putting away the disabled access ramps, the driver had driven his vehicle across the footpath between the centre and the school bus in order to get past.  Having viewed CCTV of the incident, the Licensing Manager suspended the driver’s licence with immediate effect.

The decision was subsequently reviewed by the Licensing Committee in December 2019 when Members decided to lift the suspension and reinstate the driver’s licence, however, he was also issued with a warning to refrain from unsafe driving in future.

The driver appeared before Members again in December 2020 in relation to the offence detailed at 2) in the report.  The driver did not notify the Licensing Office of the offence, as required by condition on his licence, nor did he mention the offence at his Committee appearance in December 2019.  The offence was discovered by Officers carrying out annual driving licence checks.  On that occasion Members determined to suspend the driver’s licence for four weeks and required him to complete the Driver Improvement Scheme within three months.  A copy of the decision was attached at Appendix 1. 

The driver completed the Driver Improvement Scheme in May 2021 and a copy of his assessment was attached at Appendix 2.

The driver now appeared before Committee following the discovery (by Officers carrying out routine driving licence checks) of the offence detailed at 3).  Again, the offence was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/4