Minutes:
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: 03/23, 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, 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 had previously been
licensed with Middlesbrough Council from June 2003 until his licence was
revoked by Members in December 2016 due to his history of poor driving
standards. He now appeared before
Members with a fresh application in relation to the offence detailed at 1) and
his previous history.
It was highlighted that, when
previously licensed, the applicant had appeared before the Committee for review
of his licence on several occasions: 16 July 2007 (retained licence but
required to complete the Driver Improvement Scheme); 15 March 2010 (retained
licence but required to complete the Driver Improvement Scheme); 10 May 2010
(licence retained following completion of the Driver Improvement Scheme); and 5
December 2016 when Members decided to revoke his licence.
The applicant subsequently
appealed the Committee’s decision to revoke and his
appeal was dismissed by Teesside Magistrates Court on 7 April 2017. A copy of the Court bundle was attached at
Appendix 1.
Attached at Appendix 2 was a copy
of the record of the applicant’s DVLA history.
The applicant was interviewed by
a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 29 March 2023 when he confirmed his previous
explanations of previous offences and 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 Licensing Manager also
confirmed that in relation to the offence at 1), the applicant had received six
penalty points on his DVLA licence, not three as stated in the report.
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 presented the case
in support of his application 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 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: 03/23, be refused.
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, 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 to grant the application for a Private Hire Vehicle driver’s licence on the grounds that the Committee was not satisfied
the applicant was a fit and proper person to be granted the licence. The reasons for the decision are as follows:-
Reasons
5. The
applicant was convicted of an offence of having no insurance on 30 December
2021, fined £40 and issued with 6 penalty points. Having no insurance was classed under the
Policy as a major traffic offence. The
Policy required a period of five years free of any motoring conviction or
incident from the date of conviction or completion of sentence before a licence should be granted.
Only approximately one and a half years had passed.
6. Prior
to this conviction, the applicant had the following convictions or was involved
in the following incidents. The
Committee considered it was necessary to consider previous, old convictions and
incidents in order to assess the pattern of driving
issues and suitability of the applicant.
Most of the offences took place whilst the applicant was licensed by the
Council putting the public at risk.
History:-
27.12.1999 excess speed £40 fine and 3 penalty points
5.3.2001 excess speed £60 fine and 3 penalty points
18.01.03 excess speed £40 fine and 3 penalty points
25.06.04 contravention of
pedestrian crossing £60 fine and
4 penalty points
05.06.05 Licence
Granted
27.04.07 charging passengers
excessive fare £300
fine. £513 costs
16.07.07 Licensing Committee Warning and DIS
23.10.07 Using mobile phone £60 fine and 3 penalty points
07.11.07 Driver improvement completed
Scheme
03.04.08 Using mobile phone £60 fine and 3 penalty points
2010 Excess Speed 3
penalty points
2010 Excess Speed 3
penalty points
15.03.10 Licensing Committee Suspended until completion of DIS
Severe
warning
19.03.10 Driver Improvement
Scheme Completed
Nov 2010 Using mobile phone warning by officers
Nov 2010 Using mobile phone warning by officers
04.09.12 Using mobile phone 3 penalty points
Failed
to declare
10.12.14 Excess Speed 3 penalty points
Failed
to declare
08.04.15 Excess Speed 3 penalty points
Failed
to declare
14.09.15 complaint of dangerous
Driving
05.12.16 Licensing Committee Licence Revoked
8. In
addition to the unsafe driving offences and incidents, the Committee previously
considered that the applicant was dishonest in that despite being a clear
condition on his licence, the applicant failed to
declare his motoring convictions above.
The previous Committee also considered the incident on 14 September 2015
to be dangerous driving putting the public and other road users at serious
risk. It also considered that the
applicant’s explanations were untrue and he had misled
the Committee.
9. The
applicant had been given warnings, suspensions and attended two Driver
Improvement Schemes, at the end of which was evaluated as still having to improve
but continued to drive unsafely and failed to report convictions which
ultimately led to his revocation in December 2016.
10. The
applicant had a significant history of offences and incidents showing a
disregard for safety whilst he was licensed and
driving was his profession. Where there
was a history of unsafe driving the Policy required a five-year period free of
incident or conviction.
11. A
further offence was committed on 31 December 2021 for having no insurance for
which the applicant had six points on his licence. This was classed as a major traffic offence
and required a five-year period free of conviction or incident to ensure the
public were protected. The Committee was
not convinced that the applicant was being wholly honest about the
circumstances of the offence; in the report saying he was driving a friend’s
car and, in the meeting, saying he was delivering pizzas. It considered it was unclear if he had
checked or how often he had checked the insurance. In any event the Committee would consider a
reasonable person in his position to check the documents to be sure he was
insured. It considered it to be very
serious if a person was not insured whilst driving, especially if wanting to
obtain a licence to drive the public.
12. In light of the applicant’s history and the recent
conviction, the Committee could not be satisfied that the applicant was a safe,
suitable, trustworthy person to be licensed.
It found no good reason to depart from its policy.
13. If the Applicant is aggrieved by this
decision, they may appeal to a Magistrates Court within 21 days from the date
of the notice of the decision. The local magistrate’s court for the area is the
Teesside Justice Centre, Teesside Magistrates, Victoria Square, Middlesbrough.
Supporting documents: