Agenda and draft minutes

The minutes from the previous meeting were agreed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

You are asked to resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item(s) because it is likely that if members of the press or public were present, there would be disclosure of ‘exempt information’

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

The Licensing Officer:

a)    presented the report which detailed that the applicant had held a full UK driving licence since November 2015

b)    explained that the applicant came into City Hall for an appointment to apply for a new Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence

c)    highlighted that the applicant passed the knowledge test on his first attempt as well as achieving a low risk on the Driver Improvement Programme

d)    stated that when the applicant came into City Hall to collect his Private Hire licence he queried that he had applied for a Hackney Carriage licence

e)    The Licensing Officer that was dealt with the applicant explained that there were only 30 hackney carriage vehicles licensed by the Authority and he would need to purchase one from an existing owner in order to put his own vehicle on

f)     highlighted that the applicant said he may have wish to go elsewhere to work, specifically mentioning Bradford or Leicester

g)    The Licensing officer made the applicant aware that if he was to work outside of the city boundary he would be committing an offence

h)    stated that the Licensing Officer said that it was not possible for him to do this and explained the reasons why

i)     The applicant then asked for a private hire licence instead and stated that he would go and find an operator to work for.

The Licensing Officer explained his concerns about the applicant and stated that some of the documents he provided were from a Bradford address

Members asked the applicant relevant questions in relation to his application

Decision

That the Private Hire drivers licence be granted

Reasons for the decision

·         The applicant provided clear clarification on the points that were of concern to the Licensing Officer

·         The Sub Committee appreciated that the applicant passed the knowledge test and achieved a low risk on the Driver Improvement Programme and felt he had a good knowledge of the city

·         The Sub Committee believed that the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire Drivers Licence.

The Licensing Officer:

a)    presented the report which detailed that the licensee had held a private hire drivers licence since June 2008

b)    explained that a complaint had been made to the operator about the licence holder.

c)    further explained that a couple of weeks later a second complaint was received about the licence holder from a member of the public which was detailed in Appendix A of the report

d)    highlighted that further to the complaints that had been made the incident that was alleged to have occurred was already being dealt with by the Police.

e)    Stated that the Police contacted the Licensing Team to discuss their findings and the outcome of the case which was outlined in Appendix B of the report

Members asked the applicant relevant questions in relation to the alleged offence

The applicant answered the relevant questions and was given the opportunity to ask the Licensing Committee questions, of which he did

The chair asked the applicant if he had any further information to add with regards to the case

The applicant admitted to the Committee that he had made a mistake and that his behaviour was unacceptable. He also asked for clarification on a couple of things that were detailed in the report

Members of the Licensing committee asked the applicant and the Licensing Officers further questions for clarification

The Legal and Democratic Services manager asked the applicant if he felt he had received a fair hearing and whether he was given a fair opportunity to speak

The applicant confirmed that he was happy with what had been explained to him.

Decision

That the licence holder’s private hire licence was suspended for a period of three months. During this time he would be expected to complete an anger management course which would be approved by a Licensing Officer of the council upon completion. The course would be completed at the licence holder’s expense. Once the Licensing Officer was satisfied that the licence holder has completed the course, the suspension will expire and a licence can be re-issued to the licence holder. If the course was not completed, the matter would be brought back before the committee for further consideration.

Reasons for the decision

1)    The serious nature of the complaint from the member of the public

2)    The licence holder admitted the offence

3)    The fact that the incident took place when the licence holder was working as a private hire driver

4)    The action taken by the police in respect of a criminal investigation

5)    The outcome of those proceedings, whilst noting that restorative justice is a low level offence and will not appear as a criminal record however it is a finding of guilt.

The Licensing Officer:

a)    presented the report which detailed that the licence holder had held a hackney carriage drivers licence since September 2009

b)    explained that the licence holder had 9 penalty points on his driving licence which he had failed to disclose 3 points

c)    confirmed that it came to the Licensing Teams attention on receipt of the driving licence check which showed the licence holder had 9 penalty points and the Licensing team were not aware of this

d)    highlighted that there had been complaints made against the licence holder and it was also alleged that other offences had been committed as detailed in the report

e)    presented and played video footage to the Licensing Committee in relation to the alleged offences by licence holder.

Members of the committee asked the licence holder relevant questions regarding the alleged offences and responses were given.

The Licensing Officer then provided further paperwork to the committee relating to the case.

The chair asked the committee if they should adjourn the hearing for a short period of time to allow members to read the relevant paperwork.

The committee confirmed that they were happy for the hearing to proceed without the need to adjourn.

The chair gave the Licensing Officer the opportunity to speak in further detail about the application.

The Licensing officer confirmed he had nothing else to add

The chair then gave the applicants representative the opportunity to also add any further information to the case.

The representative summed up his case on behalf of the applicant.

Further to the information that had been presented, the Legal and Democratic Services manager asked the applicant for clarification on whether he had understood the requirements of being a Hackney Carriage driver and whether the Licensing Team conversed with him sufficiently.

The applicant confirmed that he understood the requirements and thanked the Licensing Team for their patience when dealing with him and explained that he understood all the information given to him.

Decision

That the applicant’s application for a Hackney Carriage licence was revoked and a further application would not be considered by the council within 2 years of the date of this decision notice.

Reason for the Decision:

1)    The applicant has been a driver for a number of years and there were a list of concerns relating to his licence

2)    The applicant was dishonest on the basis that he would have known   about the need to declare the 3 penalty points to the Licensing Officer with regards to totting

3)    The applicant clearly stated that the Licensing team members have been thorough

4)    The witness statements were quite compelling as to the offences

5)    There was certainly one offence of touting for hire which had been  admitted

6)    The licensing policy states that for a licensing offence, which had been admitted by the applicant, an individual should not be able to reapply for a licence within 3 years of a conviction for a plying for hire offence

7)    The members felt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.