North Yorkshire Council
General Licensing and Registration Sub-Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 17 September 2025 commencing at 1.30 pm.
Councillors Tim Grogan, Mike Jordan and Andrew Lee.
Officers present: Lynne Ashton, Senior Solicitor, Stephen Pinkney, Licensing Enforcement Officer, Sharon Cousins, Area Licensing Manager (Observing); and Joe Morrison, Trainee Solicitor (Observing).
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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1 |
Election of Chair
Decision
That Councillor Tim Grogan be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.
(Councillor Grogan in the Chair)
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2 |
Apologies for absence
There were no apologies for absence.
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3 |
Disclosures of interest
There were no declarations of interest.
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4 |
Exclusion of the press and public
The decision
That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item of business at minute no 6 on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as the Panel was satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.
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5 |
Procedure for meeting
The decision
The Sub Committee agreed the procedure for the meeting as outlined by the Chair.
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6 |
Review of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence
The Licensing Sub-Committee considered the report and appendices of the Corporate Director of Environment which asked the Sub-Committee to consider whether the licence holder was a fit and proper person to hold a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence.
The options available to the Sub-Committee were
In making their decision, Members considered the content of the report and appendices, the verbal presentation by the Licensing Enforcement Officer on behalf of the licensing authority, a verbal presentation by the licence holder, the relevant legislation and case law, the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy and the statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued by the Department of Transport.
The Sub-Committee members acknowledged that the licence holder had experienced an oversight and accepted their admission of fault. Having considered the licence holders verbal representations as to the circumstances, Members were persuaded that an exception to the policy was justified in this instance.
Decision
Members were unanimous in their decision that there were grounds to depart from the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy and that the licence holder was a fit and proper person within the meaning of sections 51 and 59 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, to hold a Dual Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence, and therefore no suspension or revocation should be made.
However, Members wished to impress upon the licence holder the seriousness of their conduct and requested that the licence holder be issued with a final written warning by the Licensing Authority which would be placed on their driving record for a period of twelve months from the date of the warning letter.
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The meeting concluded at 2.09 pm.