Agenda item

The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration submitted an exempt report in connection with an application for a  Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref: 01/23, 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 accompanied by a representative, 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 Committee in relation to the offence detailed at 1). 

The applicant was interviewed by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 22 February 2023 when he provided an explanation in relation to the offence at 1) and confirmed that there were no other offences of which the Council was unaware.

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’s representative presented the case in support of the application and he and the applicant responded to questions from Members.

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 Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence, Ref No: 01/23, be granted.

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, Middlesbrough Council’s Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Policy 2022 (“the Policy”), the report and representations made by the applicant and his representative.

3.           The application 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 grant the application for a Private Hire Vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that it was satisfied the applicant was a fit and proper person to be granted such a licence.

Reasons

5.      The Policy requires a conviction-free period of at least 10 years for a conviction for an offence of violence.  The applicant accepted a caution for Affray on 29 January 2017 following a violent incident, therefore, the decision to grant the licence was a departure from the Policy. 

6.      The Committee considered there were good reasons to depart from the Policy in this case in that the applicant informed the Committee he only played a minor role in the incident which involved a family member and another male and that he only became involved when his cousin was injured.  The Police considered a caution, rather than prosecution, to be an appropriate means of dealing with the matter.  The incident occurred over six years ago without further incident and the applicant submitted he had matured over that period and had worked for a taxi firm without issue for ten years.