Agenda item

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a Private Hire Operator’s Licence, Ref: 14/24, 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 was in attendance at the meeting and confirmed he had been supplied with a copy of the report and understood its contents.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer referred to page 41 of the submitted report which made reference to an order being signed by a District Judge on 24 March 2024 and advised that this date should read 24 March 2020.

 

The applicant had supplied a copy of the Order referred to and this was circulated to Members for information.  The Principal Licensing Officer pointed out that the Order ceased to have effect from 8 July 2022.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer presented a summary of the report outlining the details of the application. 

 

The applicant had previously been licensed with Middlesbrough Council in December 2016.  In April 2020 concerns were raised with Licensing Officers by the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) regarding the driver’s behaviour in relation to drug-taking and sexual violence towards his wife.

 

The LADO provided a report which included information regarding the driver’s admission to a family social worker that he had taken cocaine.  An extract from that report was included in the submitted report.

 

The LADO report also included other relevant information supplied by the Police in August 2017 that the driver had touched a female passenger’s leg inappropriately.  The female did not wish to make a statement at the time and no further action was taken.

 

As a result of the report and concerns raised by the LADO, on 24 April 2020, the driver attended the Council Licensing Officer to undertake a drug test.  The result was negative, however, the driver admitted to taking cocaine on four or five occasions previously.

 

Subsequently a review of the driver’s licence was carried out following consultation with the Council’s Legal Department and it was decided to revoke his licence with immediate effect (Appendix 1).

 

The driver appealed the decision to the Magistrates Court in November 2020 when it was determined that, on the balance of probabilities, the driver posed a risk to the public and the appeal was dismissed.

 

In November 2023 a fresh application was made by the applicant.  As part of the application process, in January 2024, Licensing Officers received a disclosure from the Cleveland Police DBS team stating that the driver was arrested on 6 January 2024 for harassment and driving with a specified controlled drug above the speed limit.  It was alleged that the applicant had attended his ex-wife’s address causing harassment and had further been stopped driving a vehicle and testing positive for cocaine in a drug swipe test at the roadside.

 

As a result of the above, the applicant was interviewed by Licensing Enforcement Officers on 5 February 2024 and was advised that the Council would not be able to further consider his application until the Police investigation had concluded.

 

On 29 May 2024, the applicant contacted the Licensing Team requesting that his Private Hire Driver licence be reinstated as the drugs test he had taken was negative and the Police had not updated the Licensing Office.

 

On 23 July 2024 checks were made with Cleveland Police DBS team to ascertain the outcome of the applicant’s arrest and it was confirmed that no further action was taken in relation to either offence.

 

The applicant was interviewed by Licensing Enforcement Officers on 30 July 2024 when he provided an explanation of the circumstances leading to his arrest in January 2024.

 

The applicant was invited to present the 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, 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 Operator’s Licence, Ref No: 14/24, 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 is satisfied the driver is 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 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 no history of criminal offences, however, a number of concerns were brought to the Committee’s attention regarding his conduct.

6.         The applicant had admitted to using cocaine in the past, on more than one occasion, and had his licence revoked immediately as a result. 

 

7.         Furthermore, a complaint by a passenger of the applicant was disclosed by the Police which alleges sexual assault on the passenger in 2017.  This allegation was not taken any further by the passenger.  The applicant stated that the Police should have brought this to his attention so he had the opportunity to rebut it.

 

8.            The applicant also alleges that the Police and conspiring against in insofar as they have accused him of selling/taking drugs and sexually assaulting a passenger.

 

9.            On 6 January 2024, the applicant was arrested by the Police for a course of conduct which amounted to harassment and driving a vehicle under the influence of drugs (namely cocaine).

 

10.          It was noted by the Committee that the applicant was in fact not under the influence of drugs and tested positive because of codeine which he had taken.

 

11.          A non-molestation Order was provided by the applicant and a further Final Order in respect of child arrangements and restrictions between the Applicant and his ex-partner.

12.          The applicant was prohibited from contacting his ex-partner directly and the order stipulated intermediaries to arrange contact between them.  The applicant stated, as the relationship between the intermediaries had ended, there was no other way for him to establish contact with his partner.  Therefore, he attended her property on the 6 January 2024.

 

13.          The Applicant was accused by his ex-partner of “parking outside her house, beeping the horn shouting and shining a laser pen through the windows”.  At the time of the applicant’s arrest, a laser pen was found in his vehicle.  The applicant states his ex-wife knew that he kept a laser pen in his vehicle.

 

14.          In respect of the evidence before Members, the Committee considered all previous convictions, character and actions of the applicant.  The Committee considered the incidents and decisions made by the applicant in assessing whether or not the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence.

 

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

 

16.          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 is the Teesside Justice Centre, Teesside Magistrates, Victoria Square, Middlesbrough.

 

17.          If the applicant does 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.