Agenda item

The Director of Environment and Community Services submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 23/25, 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, 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 driver appeared before Members in relation to convictions recorded against him as shown at 1) & 2) in the report. The Committee was advised that the driver had been licensed as a Private Hire Vehicle Driver with Middlesbrough Council since 6 November 2023. His current licence was due to expire on the 31 October 2025.

 

On 12 January 2025, Licensing Officers received an email from the driver, stating that he had received 3 penalty points on his driving licence for a speeding offence.

 

On 5 May 2025, Licensing Officers received a further email from the driver to report points on his licence.

 

On the 6 May 2025, a Licensing Officer replied to the driver requesting further information regarding his penalty points along with the date he had received them. On that same day the driver replied stating that he had received 6 points for a conviction dated 1 May 2025.

 

On 6 May 2025, a Licensing Officer carried out a check on the status of the driver’s DVLA driving licence that revealed he had 9 points on his licence.

 

On 19 May 2025 the driver was interviewed by Licensing Enforcement Officers and provided his explanation in relation to the motoring convictions.

 

The driver was invited to address the Committee in support of 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. 

 

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 Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 23/25, be retained, but that the driver be issued with a warning regarding his conduct, 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 had been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence;

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

-        for any other reasonable cause. 

 

2. 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.

 

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

 

 

Decision

 

4.     After carefully considering all the information, the Licensing Committee decided to, on this occasion, permit the driver to retain his licence, but issues a formal warning to the driver.

 

Reasons

 

5.  The driver appeared before the Committee as a result of the following offences:

 

i.                 Exceeding speed limit on a motorway – 6 November 2024 date of conviction - £100 fine and 3 penalty points.

ii.                Breach of requirements as to control of vehicle, use of mobile phone etc. – 1 May 2025 date of conviction - £40 fine, £106 costs and 6 penalty points.

 

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

 

7. It stated in the Policy that a serious view would be taken regarding convictions for driving whilst using a mobile phone or handheld device. A licence would not usually be granted until at least five years had elapsed since the conviction.

 

8. It was clear in the Policy that the Council would generally follow the Policy but may depart from it if there were good reasons to do so.

 

9. It further stated that it may be appropriate to depart from the general Policy in some cases, for example, situations where the offence was isolated and there were mitigating circumstances.

 

10. The driver had been licensed as a Private Hire Driver with Middlesbrough Council since 6 November 2023, with his current licence due to expire on 31 October 2025.

 

11. On 12 January 2025, Licensing Officers received an email from the driver informing them that he had received 3 penalty points for a speeding offence.

 

12. On 5 May 2025, the driver emailed Licensing Officers again, to inform them that he had received 6 points on his licence for the offence listed at 2 above.

 

13. On 19 May 2025, the driver attended for interview with Licensing Officers. In relation to the first offence the driver recalled he was on an airport run during the early hours of the morning when caught by a speed camera.

 

14. The driver stated he was not immediately aware of the offence as he had gone on holiday to the Ivory Coast and not received notification until he had returned home in February. The Driver stated that upon his return to the UK, he paid the fine and immediately notified the Licensing department as soon as he was aware of the offence.

 

15. The driver stated that he had no passengers at the time and was on Cargo Fleet Lane, Middlesbrough when a private hire job had come through on his phone. The driver stated that he touched his phone to accept the job and was seen by a passing Police Officer.

 

16. The driver stated he informed the Officer that he did touch the screen but that it was to accept a job. The driver was fined at Court and points were endorsed on his licence.

 

17. At the Committee hearing, the driver stated that he did touch the screen but stressed that his phone was in a bracket not obscuring his view. The driver also stated that he understood that he had failed to notify the Licensing department within 48 hours but did notify them as quickly as he could.

 

18. The Committee understood and agreed that it could not go behind the conviction and that the two offences were not acceptable. The Committee did consider the driver’s mitigating circumstances and the explanation that he gave for the offences. The Committee determined that the mitigating circumstances were overwhelming in this instance and the explanations given by the driver at the hearing.

 

19. The Committee in this instance, decided to depart from the Policy and decided that a formal warning as to the driver’s behavior was appropriate to educate the driver.

 

20. The driver was reminded of the Policy expectations as well as the Code of Conduct, and that this must be adhered to going forward.

 

21. This decision was final and there was no internal or statutory route of appeal, however, the driver had the option of judicially reviewing the lawfulness of the decision to the high court if grounds had been made out. Should the driver decide by way of judicial review, he would be advised to seek independent legal advice as to the grounds and time limits that may apply

 

22. Should the driver decide to take this course of action the Council would apply for any costs incurreds in defending its decision.