Agenda and minutes

To elect a Member to act as Chair of the meeting.

Decision

That Councillor Tim Grogan be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

(Councillor Grogan in the Chair)

There were no apologies for absence.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have in items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the press and public from the meeting during consideration of item 6 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

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.

To confirm the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

The decision

The Sub Committee agreed the procedure for the meeting as outlined by the Chair.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer advised the Sub-Committee that, despite numerous attempts made by various officers using multiple methods to contact the licence holder regarding the hearing, the licence holder was not in attendance for the hearing

The Sub-Committee delayed the commencement of the hearing for 36 minutes past the scheduled start time of 11.30 am to provide additional time for the licence holder to attend.

Following discussions, the Sub-Committee confirmed that they were satisfied that the licence holder had been aware of the date of the hearing; and that as the licence holder had failed to provide a written submission for the Sub-Committee to consider or attend the hearing, it would not be unreasonable to determine the case in their absence.

It was proposed, and seconded, and agreed unanimously that the case be determined in the absence of the licence holder.

Resolved

To consider the case in the absence of the licence holder.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented 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

1. The Sub-Committee may conclude that the driver was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence, in which case, it should revoke the licence on the grounds of any reasonable cause.

2. The Sub-Committee may conclude that the appropriate sanction should be something less than complete revocation. For instance, a suspension may, in the opinion of the Sub-Committee, constitute sufficient sanction to best serve the interests of the public. The Sub-Committee may therefore suspend the licence for a specified period of time on the grounds of any reasonable cause.

In making their decision, Members considered the content of the report and appendices, the verbal presentation made by the Licensing Enforcement Officer on behalf of the licensing authority, 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 determined unanimously that, in the absence of a written submission and the non-attendance of the licence holder, there was no evidence available for consideration in mitigation to persuade them that an exception to policy should be applied in this case and consequently there were no grounds for a decision which departed from the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy.

Decision

That the licence holder was not a “fit and proper person” and that the dual Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence be revoked under section 61(1)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976; on the ground of any other reasonable cause under s61(1)(b) of the Act