Venue: Mandela Room
Contact: Joanne Dixon / Scott Bonner
No. | Item |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were no Declarations of Interest made by Members at this point in the meeting. |
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Minutes - Licensing Committee - 24 February 2025 Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting of the Licensing Committee, held on
24 February 2025, were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Licensing Updates 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. Minutes: There were no
updates to be provided. NOTED |
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Any other urgent items which in the opinion of the Chair, may be considered. Minutes: There were no urgent
items. NOTED |
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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: |
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Review of Hackney Carriage Vehicle Driver Licence Ref:- 07/25 Additional documents:
Minutes: 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 |
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Application for Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence Ref:- 08/25 Additional documents:
Minutes: 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 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 |
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Application for a Renewal of a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence Ref:- 09/25 Minutes: 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 |