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: 20/25, 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 Officer presented a summary of the report outlining that the Driver appeared before Members due to the conviction listed at 1 to 3 in the report.

 

Members were advised that the Driver appeared before Members for a review of his licence due to his having 9 penalty points endorsed on his DVLA driving licence as a result of the convictions detailed in the report.

 

On 3 June 2025, Licensing Officers received an email from the Driver which stated

He had received six penalty points on his driving licence.” In his email the Driver also stated that the nature of the offence was speeding and no business insurance for food delivery.

 

Following a check on the Driver’s DVLA driving licence it was revealed the convictions detailed at one to three in the report were recorded against it. 

 

Officers noted that as the convictions detailed at two and three in the report were dated 26 March 2025, the driver had again failed to comply with the standard licence condition requiring drivers to notify the Licensing Office of any convictions within 48

hours.

 

On 6 June 2025, the Driver attended an interview with Licensing

Enforcement Officers to enable him to explain the circumstances of the

convictions recorded against him.

 

As part of the interview the Driver explained he accepted responsibility for his mistakes and apologised for them. He also stated he had attended a speed awareness course for excessive speeding before the incidents listed in the report and stated this was due to sickness which affected his memory. The Driver also explained that on 28 May 2023 he had received a conviction for excessive speeding on Albert Road which resulted in three points being endorsed on his licence and a fine of either £70 or £80. The Driver apologised for not reporting this to the Council.

 

On 4 December 2024 the Driver received an offence for failing to comply with traffic light signals. He was also found to be driving without proper business insurance when stopped by the Police. The Driver also apologised for not declaring the conviction to the Council. The Driver stated that ongoing mental health issues contributed to his failure to comply with relevant licensing conditions.

 

Members were reminded of section 61 of the Local Government Act 1976 and the Council’s right to suspend, revoke or refuse to renew the licence of a driver of a private hire vehicle, if since the grant of a licence he has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence, or has failed to comply with the provisions of this Act, or the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, or for any other reasonable cause.

 

The Driver 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 Driver presented his case 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 Driver, 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. 

 

The Licensing Officer clarified the date of birth on the report for Members.

 

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 Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 21/25, be revoked, as follows:-

 

Authority to act

 

1.    Under Section 61 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 (“the Act”) the Committee may revoke or suspend a private hire / hackney carriage vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that:

-       Since the grant of the licence the Driver has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence;

-       Since the grant of the licence the Driver has committed an offence or breached the Act or the Town Police Clauses Act 1847;

-       for any other reasonable cause. 

 

2.    Under Section 61(2B) of the Act, if it appears to be in the interests of public safety, the Committee can decide that the revocation is to have immediate effect.

 

3.    The Committee considered Section 61 of the Act, the Middlesbrough Council Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Policy 2022 (“the Policy”), the report and representations made by the Driver and his representative.

 

4.    The review of the licence was considered on its own particular facts and on its merits.

 

Decision

 

5.    After carefully considering all of the information the Licensing Committee decided to revoke the Driver’s private hire vehicle drivers’ licence on the grounds of any other reasonable cause.  It decided that the revocation was to have immediate effect in the interests of public safety under section 61(2B) of the Act. 

 

Reasons

 

6.    The Policy confirmed that the Council’s licensed drivers should be safe drivers with good driving records and adequate experience, sober, mentally and physically fit, be honest and not persons who would take advantage of their employment to abuse or assault passengers.

 

7.    The Policy further confirmed that criminal convictions were not the only criteria used when considering whether an individual was a fit and proper person to be licensed. The Council can consider circumstances of concern even though a conviction has not been obtained or the conduct did not amount to a criminal offence. In assessing the action to take, the safety of the travelling public must be the paramount concern.

 

8.    It was a requirement, in line with the Policy, for a driver if they were cautioned for, or convicted of, any motoring or criminal offence or made subject to a CRASBO, ASBO or injunction or arrested or charged with any motoring or criminal offence to notify the Council, in writing, within 48 hours.

 

9.    The Policy on Convictions were set out at Appendix G, Policy on the Relevance of Convictions, Cautions, Reprimands, Warnings, Complaints and Character.

 

10.  If an applicant for a driver’s licence had an endorsement in respect of a major traffic offence then the application would normally be refused until at least five years after the most recent conviction, caution, reprimand, final warning or if the person was disqualified, after the restoration of their driving licence, whichever was the later. This standard was also applied to a current licence holder.

 

11.  The Driver had been licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle Driver with the Council since 2 February 2017, with the current licence due to expire on 31 January 2028.

 

12.  The Driver appeared before Members of the Licensing Committee as a result of him having 9 penalty points endorsed on his licence. The offences were as follows:

 

i.              Exceeding Statutory Speed limit on public road – 28 May 2023 date of conviction - £70 fine and 3 penalty points

ii.             On 4 December 2024 – Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks (IN10) – 26 March 2025 date of conviction - £120 fine and 6 penalty points

iii.            On 4 December 2024 – Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle (PC20) – 26 March 2025 date of conviction – no separate penalty to (ii)

 

13.  In respect of the first offence listed (i), internal records showed that the Driver did not inform Licensing Officers until 8 October 2023, nearly 5 months after the conviction.

 

14.  On 3 June 2025, the Driver emailed Licensing Officers to notify them of the two other offences listed above (ii) & (iii). It was noted by Officers that the Driver had again delayed reporting convictions, this time by nearly 4 months.

 

15.  The Driver attended for an interview on 6 June 2025, where he told Officers of another driving offence, not listed on his DBS certificate. The Driver stated that before the offences for which he was convicted, he was stopped by the Police for travelling at 80mph in a 70mph zone. The Driver stated that he completed a speed awareness course as a result of this incident, but he could not recall the date of the offence.

 

16.  The Driver explained that in respect of the first offence (i), he was caught by a speed trap travelling 34mph in a 30mph zone whilst driving his taxi with no passengers inside. He stated that his failure to report the matter within 48 hours was an oversight and had happened due to mental health issues he was experiencing at the time.

 

17.  In terms of the second (ii) and third (iii) offences listed, the Driver stated he travelled through a red light on Marton Road and was stopped by a Police car. It was then discovered by the Police Officer that he did not have the required insurance cover for delivering food for a business. The Driver stated that he understood how serious travelling through a red light was and that it was a lapse in judgement. He further stated that he was unaware of the need for a different type of insurance needed to deliver pizzas for a local takeaway and this was a genuine error.

 

18.  At the Committee hearing, the Driver provided clarification on one point contained in the report, this was that his birth year was 1975, not 1970 as detailed.

 

19.  The Driver further stated at the Committee hearing that he had suffered with his mental health and that this had impacted his judgement and failure to report convictions to the Licensing Officers. The Driver further confirmed that, whilst he could not remember the exact date, the speeding offence, resulting in a speed awareness course, happened whilst he was a licensed driver.

 

20.  The Committee believed that the Driver was dishonest and showed a clear pattern of behaviour not befitting a licensed taxi driver in Middlesbrough. The Committee were extremely concerned that a professional driver had accumulated 9 penalty points on their licence and have been caught speeding on two occasions, as well as running a red light and using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks, which was seen as a major traffic offence.

 

21.  The Committee did not look favourably on the Driver continuing to speed, despite having participated in a speed awareness course, they believed this should have acted as a warning and lesson for the Driver.

 

22.  The Committee was equally as alarmed that on two occasions, the Driver had failed to notify of a conviction within 48 hours, in fact the Committee believed that the delay in notification was a deliberate attempt at concealing his offences from the Licensing Team. The Committee deemed it unacceptable for a driver to delay by nearly 4 and 5 months for offences.

 

23.  The Committee determined that this was a pattern of behaviour and not lapses in judgement, they found that the Driver repeatedly and continually disregarded the Policy and the law.

 

24.  It was therefore considered that the driver was not a fit and proper person or safe and suitable to be licensed as a private hire driver in Middlesbrough.

 

25.  The Committee based on the evidence they were presented with determined there were no compelling, clear, good or exceptional reasons to depart from the Policy, and decided to revoke the licence for the reasons set out above.

 

26.  The decision was made to revoke the licence with immediate effect as the Committee believed the continual offending and the failure to follow Policy procedures in reporting offences was a serious risk to public safety and that the driver is not a fit and proper person.

 

27.  If the Driver 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 local magistrates for the area is the Teesside Justice Centre, Teesside Magistrates, Victoria Square, Middlesbrough.

 

28.  If the Driver did appeal the decision and the appeal was dismissed by the Magistrates Court, the Council will claim its costs in defending its decision from the Applicant which could be in the region of £1000.