Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting of the Licensing Committee, held on 7 April 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 an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 14/25, 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 outlining that the applicant appeared before Members due to the conviction listed at 1) in the report.

It was highlighted that the applicant was previously licensed with Middlesbrough Council from October 2018 until March 2023 when his Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle driver licence was revoked by Officers, with immediate effect, due to the offence at 1).  This followed information received from Cleveland Police that, on 8 February and 10 February 2023, the applicant had been arrested for “Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit.”  A copy of the revocation letter sent by the Licensing Manager was attached at Appendix 1.

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Officer on 15 November 2024 when he provided explanations in relation to the circumstances surrounding his arrest on 10 February 2023 and confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware.  The applicant was also informed during interview that, in accordance with the Council’s Policy Guidance on convictions, he was still within the conviction period as the Policy stated that applicants with drug-driving related offences should be required to show a conviction-free period of seven years from the completion of any sentence.

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 case.

The applicant presented his case 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 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 No: 14/25, be refused, 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/94

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 15/25, 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 applicant appeared before Members due to the conviction listed in the submitted report and it was highlighted that he had failed to declare the conviction in his application.

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Officer on 3 April 2025 when he provided an explanation of the circumstances regarding his conviction and confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware.

A character reference in support of the applicant was attached at Appendix 1.

Licensing Officers made enquiries with Trading Standards Officers in relation to the circumstances surrounding the legal proceedings taken against the applicant in relation to the offences and conviction recorded against him.  Appendix 2 was an account of the dealings Trading Standards Officers’ had in relation to the matter.

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 addressed 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 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 No: 15/25, be refused, 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 facts and on its merits.

Decision

4.     After carefully considering all the information, the Licensing Committee decided to refuse to grant the application for a Private Hire Vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that the Committee was not satisfied the applicant was a fit and proper person to be granted the licence.  The reasons for the decision were as follows:-

Reasons

5.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/95

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 16/25, 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, outlining that the applicant appeared before Members in relation to the convictions detailed at 1) to 3) in the submitted report.  As part of his application, the applicant had stated ‘See DBS’ in response to the question regarding previous convictions and he subsequently provided a DBS disclosure certificate which revealed the convictions at 1) to 3) in the report.

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Officer on 14 April 2025 and confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware.  The applicant stated that he was previously licensed with Middlesbrough Council more than 10 years ago but was unable to recall when.  The applicant provided explanations in relation to the offences at 1) to 3) although he was unable to recall anything in relation to the offence at 2).

Licensing Officers made further checks in relation to the applicant’s disclosure that he was previously a licenced driver with Middlesbrough Council, however, no record was found due to the Council’s retention policy and the fact that he had been licenced more than 10 years ago. 

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 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’s Licence, Ref No: 16/25, be granted with a warning regarding the applicant’s future conduct, 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 facts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/96