Agenda item

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with the review of Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 05/20, 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 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 which outlined that the driver was first licensed with Middlesbrough Council in September 2007.  He first appeared before Members on 9 December 2019 for review of his licence following the offence listed at 1) in the report and a complaint made by a member of staff at the Gleneagles Resource Centre in relation to his driving.

As a result of the complaint, and CCTV evidence, Officers suspended the driver’s licence with immediate effect pending review by the Committee on 9 December 2019.  On that occasion, Members decided to reinstate the driver’s licence but issued the driver with a warning regarding his dangerous driving.

 

The driver now appeared before Members in relation to the offence at 2) in the report.  It was highlighted that the driver failed to notify the Licensing Office within seven days of the offence, as required by condition on his licence.  It was further highlighted that the driver had failed to declare the offence at 1) when he had renewed his licence in August 2019.

 

The driver was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 26 November 2020 when he confirmed his earlier explanation in relation to the offence at 1) and provided an explanation for the offence at 2).

 

In addition, Officers had concerns with the driver’s non-compliance with requests for information on three separate occasions.  On each occasion the driver did not respond to requests for information until Officers suspended his licence.

 

In response to a query, it was confirmed that the driver currently had nine penalty points on his DVLA licence.

 

The driver confirmed that the report was an accurate representation of the facts and was invited to address the Committee in support of his case.

 

The driver addressed the Committee and provided his explanation in relation to the offences and responded to questions from Members, the Licensing Manager 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, withdrew from the meeting whilst the Committee determined the review.

 

Subsequently, all interested parties returned and the Chair announced the Committee’s decision.

 

ORDERED that Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref 05/20 be suspended for a period of four weeks and that the driver be required to complete the Driver Improvement Scheme, at his own expense, within three months.

 

Authority to act

 

1.      Under Section 61 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 (“the Act”) the Committee may revoke or suspend a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire 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, Policy Guidance to Applicants, Licensed Drivers and Members of the Licensing Committee which came into force on the 1 November 2019 (“the Policy”), the report and the 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 of the information the Licensing Committee decided to require the driver to attend a Council approved Driver Improvement Scheme within three months of the date of this decision, at his own expense.  The Committee also decided to suspend the driver’s Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle licence for a period of four weeks under Section 61 of the Act on the grounds of any other reasonable cause. 

 

Reasons

 

5.      The Committee considered the driver’s history on the whole in order to assess the driver’s suitability to continue to be licensed.

 

6.      The Policy stated any motoring offence showed a lack of responsibility whilst driving, either in terms of the maintenance and safety of their vehicle or in the manner of their driving.  It stated the Council took a serious view if a licensed driver committed a motoring offence as driving was his profession, he had a responsibility to ensure he drove his passengers safely and was not a risk to other road users.

 

7.      The Policy stated if an applicant had between seven and nine live points on their licence for such offences and/or a history of poor driving then the application will be referred to the Licensing Committee who may decide to refuse the application.  At the very least the applicant would be required to complete a driver improvement course identified by the Council, at his own expense.

 

8.      The Policy also stated, if a driver had driven unsafely as a result of minor traffic offences or upheld complaints about his driving standards, putting the public at risk, depending on the severity of the risk, the Council may require the driver to attend a driver improvement course at his own expense and/or suspend or revoke the licence.

 

9.      The driver was convicted of using his Hackney Carriage whilst having defective tyres on 28 September 2018 for which he received three penalty points and a fine of £440.  The driver was convicted on 4 October 2019 for failing to provide information as to the identity of the driver of his vehicle.  This offence related to a driving offence and he was given six penalty points.  On 22 October 2019, the driver had driven in a dangerous manner next to a centre for disabled children.  The driver currently had nine points on his DVLA licence.

 

10.   The Policy stated that applicants or existing licence holders that were found to have intentionally misled the Council, or lied as part of the application process, will not be issued with a licence.  The Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards stated “a failure by a licence holder to disclose an arrest that the issuing authority is subsequently advised of might be seen as behaviour that questions honesty and therefore the suitability of the licence holder regardless of the outcome of the initial allegation”.

 

11.   The driver breached his licensing conditions on two occasions when he failed to report his convictions to Licensing Officers.  Also, Officers found it necessary to suspend the licence for three short periods in January, February and August 2020 as a result of the driver failing to provide required Disclosure Barring Services information.  It was essential that drivers complied with Officers’ requests and that convictions were reported as soon as possible to enable Officers to quickly assess whether a driver was a risk to the public.  The driver admitted he did not want to report the conviction on 4 October 2019 for fear of reprisals in respect of his licence. 

 

12.   The Committee noted that the driver’s licence was suspended between October and December 2019 and he was given a warning in respect of his driving standards in relation to the driving incident on 22 October 2019.  However, since that date the further traffic conviction on 4 October 2019 was revealed.

 

13.   The Committee considered the driver did not appear to take responsibility for his actions.  The Committee did not consider his reasoning for not being aware of convictions or the requirement to provide information due to postal issues to be credible.

 

14.   The Committee considered the driver had put the public at risk and was required to attend a driver improvement course, approved by the Council, within three months from the date of this decision, at his own expense, which should improve his driving standards and awareness of risks.

 

15.   In view of the driver’s poor driving standards, his failure to respond to Officer requests and report convictions the Committee decided, on this occasion in view that he had been licensed since 2007, to stop short of revoking his licence but to issue a suspension for a period of four weeks.  The Committee considered the suspension should deter the driver from driving unsafely and ensure he complies with disclosure requirements in the future.

 

16.   The decision was in accordance with the Policy and the Committee considered there were no good reasons to depart from it.

Appeal

 

17.  If the driver was aggrieved by the decision he may appeal to the Teesside Justice Centre, Teesside Magistrates, Victoria Square, Middlesbrough within 21 days from the date of the notice of the decision.

 

If the driver 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 driver which could be in the region in excess of £750.