Agenda and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest.

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

The minutes of the Licensning Committee held on 8 November 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.

** SUSPENSION OF COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE NO. 5 - ORDER OF BUSINESS

At 1.00pm, neither applicant or driver was in attendance, therefore, the Committee re-ordered the agenda to provide the applicant and driver additional time in which to arrive.

ORDERED: that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 5, the Committee agreed to vary the order of business to consider the agenda items in the following order: 7, 6, 5. 

Potential Policy Change

The Licensing Manager wished to bring to Members’ attention a formal request received from a large private hire operator in relation to potentially streamlining requirements and processes for new private hire vehicle applicants.

It was explained that, since the start of the Covid pandemic, there was a national shortage of private hire vehicle drivers as many had left the trade to take up other occupations and had not returned.  This had resulted in customers waiting longer for taxis and a subsequent increase in complaints regarding taxi availability.  It had also resulted in many private hire vehicle operators having large numbers of vehicles not being driven.

The request from the taxi Company for the Council’s consideration was to:-

1.    Abolish the topographical section of the knowledge test (in line with Newcastle, North Tyneside, Sunderland, Wolverhampton and other local authorities across the country).

2.    Consider delivering comprehensive training to help applicants achieve the knowledge required to pass all other sections of the test.

3.    Abolish the requirement for the independent driving assessment as the Council had the ability to refer a driver for training should they consider it necessary.

The Licensing Manager highlighted that the topographical part of the knowledge test was abolished in Sunderland recently without public consultation and that some local authorities had only removed that part of the knowledge test for private hire drivers as private hire operators now tended to have sophisticated booking systems with Sat Nav which was not always the case for Hackney Carriages.

In relation to considering delivery of bespoke training for applicants, it was explained that driver testing was previously delivered by Officers and undertaken face to face, however, this testing had moved on-line in Middlesbrough some time ago.

The independent driver assessments were previously delivered by the Driver Standards Agency who delivered a bespoke driver test across the Tees Valley Local Authorities up until four years ago when the Government abolished the test without consultation.  From that point the Tees Valley Local Authorities decided to keep the test which was delivered by Hartlepool Council Road Safety Team on behalf of the Tees Valley authorities.  Those authorities that did not maintain the independent test tightened up on the rules around the number of penalty points a driver was able to accrue before being required to complete a Driver Improvement Scheme.

Should a decision be made to abolish the independent driver assessment, Officers would propose that any driver accruing six penalty points on their licence should be required to undertake the driver improvement scheme and that any driver accruing seven to nine points should expect their licence to be revoked.

Officers had been working on reviewing the current Taxi Licensing Policy as a result of new National Minimum Standards being introduced and this was open to a full consultation process across all local authorities.   Middlesbrough was also proposing amendments in two areas of the Policy – Proposed Changes to Vehicle Age Policy and Proposed Changes to Window Tint Policy.

Following a lengthy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/37

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 11/21, 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, who was in attendance at the meeting, 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 May 2019 and had no previous convictions.

The driver now appeared before Members following a complaint made by a member of the public on 11 October 2021 in relation to an incident involving the driver on 9 October 2021.

The complaint related to a journey booked by the female passenger using a taxi booking app with the driver’s operator prior to taking the journey.  The passenger pre-paid the fare stated on the app and, whilst she considered it to be on the low side, she did not question it as she had not travelled that journey before.

During the actual journey, the passenger alleged that the driver had become aggressive towards her, stating that the fare wrong and was too low and that she needed to pay more.  He initially checked with his operator who told him that the fare was correct and that he did not have to undertake the job if he did not want to.  The driver had continued to complain to the passenger about the fare and had shouted at her and told her to get out of the vehicle if she was not willing to pay more.  The passenger refused as they were travelling on a dark country road and she believed the fare to be correct and had already paid using the app.  She had explained to the driver that she did not carry cash with her to which he responded he would drive her to a cashpoint.  The passenger had again refused and asked to be taken home but stated she felt scared.  The driver stated he would ‘sort it out’ and kept looking at his phone.

The complainant stated that once they arrived at her home, the driver informed her that the operator had added £4.50 to her fare.  The complainant stated that she checked her bank account and the amount of £11.70 had been taken by the taxi firm (an additional £4.50 to the original fare). 

The complainant had telephoned her father when she got home as she felt frightened and upset.  Her father had subsequently contacted the taxi operator who advised that the additional money was charged due to two extra drop offs made on the journey.  A copy of the complaint was attached at Appendix 1 and a copy of an email to the Licensing Officer from the complainant’s father was attached at Appendix 2.

The driver was interviewed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/38

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 Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The driver, accompanied by his legal representative, 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.  It was highlighted that applicant was previously licensed with Middlesbrough Council in 2006 but his licence was revoked in 2018 following his conviction for the offence at 2) in the report.  The applicant appealed the decision, however, he was unsuccessful. 

The applicant now appeared with a fresh application which was due to be considered a the previous Licensing Committee, however, Members deferred consideration due to a request for further information in relation to the revocation decision and from the Council’s LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer).

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 27 August 2021 when he confirmed his previous explanations for the offences at 1) and 2) in the submitted report.

At the Licensing Committee in June 2018, Members also considered further information provided by Cleveland Police in relation circumstances leading to the applicant’s conviction, attached at Appendix 1.  This information raised safeguarding concerns and subsequent enquiries with the Council’s LADO revealed Social Services involvement. A meeting with the LADO was held in April 2018 and was also considered by the Committee at the time.  A copy was attached at Appendix 2.

On 16 November 2021, further enquiries were made with the LADO and it was confirmed that there had been no Social Services involvement since 2018.

A copy of the Licensing Committee’s decision made in June 2018 to revoke the applicant’s licence was attached at Appendix 3.

The report also contained information taken from Council records showing that the applicant was issued with warnings in relation to four separate complaints in 2009, 2016 and two in 2017.

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’s legal representative addressed the Committee in support of the application.  The legal representative and the applicant responded to questions from Members and the Council’s legal representative.  

It was confirmed that there were no further questions and applicant, his legal representative 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 Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/39