Minutes:
Tom Charlesworth, Licensing Officer:
a) presented a report to Licensing Committee to seek a decision on whether a private hire vehicle licence should be suspended or revoked in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (the Act)
b) referred to The Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy which stated: “Failure to comply with the terms of Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, road traffic legislation and the licensing standards, conditions and requirements of the Council may lead to suspension and/or revocation of the licence.”
c) added that condition 19 of the conditions attached to a private hire vehicle licence stated: “The Operator or person to whom a licence is granted shall at all times operate the vehicle in compliance with the terms of Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and failure so to do may result in the Licence being suspended or revoked.”
d) stated that on 24 June 2021 a notice of revocation was issued to a private hire vehicle licence holder together with a covering letter, followed up with an e mail sent on 28 June 2021 in which he was informed that his private hire driver’s licence had been revoked by the City of Lincoln Council with immediate effect due to grounds related to his arrest and being charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, as detailed within paragraph 4.1 of the officer’s report
e) reported that the decision to revoke the private hire driver’s licence was carried out by the licensing team in conjunction with Legal Services, in accordance with the scheme of delegations found in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy; however, the suspension/revocation of a private hire vehicle licence was delegated to the Licensing Committee
f) confirmed that due to failure by the licence holder to respond to the Licensing Team, investigations revealed that he was held on remand at HM Prison although a revocation notice sent by recorded delivery to this address failed to receive a response
g) referred to Appendices A, B and C of the report in which the notice of revocation alongside the covering letters could be viewed together with Appendix D which contained the email sent to the licence holder. In addition, Royal Mail proof of delivery was documented at Appendix E and a copy of the private hire vehicle licence at Appendix F
h) confirmed that the licence holder was remanded in prison until the start of his trial and therefore unable to attend tonight’s hearing
i) added that it was worth noting that although the Council revoked the licence, it would have expired in September 2021; no application was made by the licence holder or any person on his behalf to renew it, therefore, regardless of the outcome of any appeal, the licence holder would need to apply for a Private Hire driver’s licence with the Council before he could work for a private hire operator in Lincoln
j) explained that the Committee was asked to determine whether the licence holders private hire vehicle licence should be suspended or revoked in accordance with section 60 of the LG (MP)A 1976, on the following grounds, namely: -
· (c) any other reasonable cause
k) advised that the Licensing Committee may also wish to consider the vehicle itself and whether any potential future passengers may be placed in danger through it being associated with its current proprietor/licence holder and/or the potential for the vehicle to be used for criminal activity
l) reported that the licence holder under Section 60 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 was entitled to appeal to a Magistrates Court against the decision of a district council
m) highlighted that a period of suspension could not be administered for punitive reasons, and that it should only be used where the licence holder was able to undertake some form of remedial action which would then allow the suspension to be lifted; this was not possible due to the licence holder being remanded in prison
n) requested Member’s consideration of the matter to be determined.
Discussions took place between members, legal services, and licensing officers.
The Decision was made as follows:
That the private hire vehicle licence be revoked
Reason for the Decision
1. The Committee shared concerns for the safety of future passengers should an association between the licence holder and the vehicle be made if the private hire vehicle licence was still active.
2. The Committee had concerns regarding the potential continuation of criminal activity if the vehicle continued to be licensed as a private hire vehicle, through the City of Lincoln Council and driven by another licensed driver, especially as it would be extremely difficult for any criminal connection between the licence holder and any such driver to be proved.
The Committee were informed that once notice was served, the licence holder had 21 days to appeal the decision.