Agenda item

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 07/24, where circumstances had arisen which required special consideration by the Committee.

 

** DECLARATION OF INTEREST

 

When the applicant joined the meeting, Councillor Romaine declared a non-pecuniary interest in the item, as the applicant was known to her.  Councillor Romaine withdrew from the meeting at this point and, therefore, took no part in the consideration or determination of the matter.

 

The Chair introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed.  The applicant 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 outlining that the applicant appeared before the Committee as a result of his previous convictions, detailed at 1) to 5) in the report.

 

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 18 April 2024 when he confirmed that there were no outstanding matters of which the Council was unaware and provided explanations in relation to the offences at 1) to 5).  The applicant also advised that he was previously licensed with Middlesbrough Council until his licence was revoked following the offence at 2).  The Licensing Manager advised that this could not be confirmed as records from that period were no longer held, however, he was able to confirm that he did recall the applicant being a licensed driver with the Council.

 

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 and responded to questions from Members 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, 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 driver would receive the full decision and reasons within five working days.

 

ORDERED that the application for Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 07/24, be refused.

 

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.      Following careful consideration of all the information, the Licensing Committee decided to refuse the application for a Private Hire Vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that it was not satisfied the applicant was a fit and proper person to be granted such a licence.

 

Reasons

 

5.      The applicant had a history of serious criminal offences from 1989 to 2017.  These ranged from robbery, false accounting, harassment and breach of restraining order.  The applicant also had four penalty points on his DVLA licence for speeding in a 30mph zone.

 

6.      The Committee questioned the applicant on the Harassment offence in 2006.  The applicant stated that he was undergoing marital issues at the time and his ex-wife had prevented him from visiting his children.  As a result of this, a restraining order was issued in order to protect his ex-wife.  The applicant stated he was regretful of his actions.

 

7.      In 2017, the applicant breached the restraining order by attending the house of his ex-wife.  He was aware the restraining order was still active at the time of committing the breach.  The Taxi Licence Policy stated the following:-

 

      “Whilst a criminal history in itself may not automatically result in refusal and a current conviction for a serious crime need not bar an applicant permanently from becoming licensed. As the preceding paragraphs indicate, in most cases, an applicant would be expected to have remained free from conviction for 5 to 10 years (the period depending on the conviction and circumstances, as detailed above), before an application is likely to be successful.”

 

8.      Questions were asked regarding the circumstances of the breach and why it occurred.  The applicant stated he missed his children and had not seen them in over 10 years and decided to turn up at the home.  The applicant stated he was aware of the consequences of turning up. The Committee considered this improper in character, a clear disregard for the law and a serious crime.

 

9.      The applicant made submissions on the day of regret for his actions and advised he had been honest and upfront before the Committee.  The applicant also advised he was not the same person he was when the offences were committed and he wished to have a fresh start.

 

10.   In respect of the evidence before Members, the Committee considered all previous convictions, character and actions of the applicant.  The Committee considered there to be elements of dishonesty with regards to the false accounting, a disregard for the law with respect to the breach of the restraining order as well as issues regarding improper character and conduct of the applicant which was directly contrary to the Policy and Code of Conduct.

 

11.   The Committee, therefore, did not consider the applicant to be a ‘fit and proper person’ under S51 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

 

12.   If the applicant was aggrieved by the decision, he may appeal to a Magistrates Court within 21 days from the date of the notice of the decision.  The address for the local magistrates for the area was the Teesside Justice Centre, Teesside Magistrates, Victoria Square, Middlesbrough.

 

13.   If the applicant did appeal the decision and the appeal was dismissed by the Magistrates Court, the Council would claim its costs in defending its decision from the applicant which could be in the region of £1,000.

 

** Councillor Romaine returned to the meeting at this point.