To receive a report from the Corporate Director – Environment.
Minutes:
To consider the report to the General Licensing and
Registration Sub-Committee and determine whether or not
to grant the Applicant a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Combined Drivers’
Licence.
The Sub-Committee considered the written report and
verbal presentation from the Licensing Enforcement Officer, who advised that on
27th March 2023, an application for a combined driver’s licence was
received from the Applicant. In that application, the Applicant declared that they
had 6 points on their DVLA Licence from an offence dated ‘30 January 2023’. A
Licence check carried out by the Licensing team revealed that the offence had
in fact occurred on 7th July 2022.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that due
to their personal circumstances, this application was not progressed by the
Applicant until 10th October 2023, when they were asked to complete
a new application form. The Applicant at this point declared one offence with
the correct date of 7th July 2022. The Applicant went on to complete
all parts of the application process by 21st December 2023.
Following the Council’s Christmas shut-down period, the Applicant then informed
the Council on 3rd January 2024 that they “had acquired 3 penalty
points (SP50)”. When asked to complete and return a notification form to ensure
that the Council had all of the relevant information,
this revealed that the Applicant had also completed a Driver Awareness Course
in lieu of points for an offence dated June 2020.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that a
check of the Applicant’s DVLA records confirmed 9 penalty points on their
driver’s licence for the following offences:
SP50 26 September 2023 – Exceeding speed limit on a
motorway (3 points)
TS10 26 September 2023 – Failing to comply with
traffic light signals (0 points)
SP30 7 July 2022 – Exceeding statutory speed limit
on a public road (6 points)
The Licensing Enforcement Officer reminded Members
that before granting the application they should be satisfied that the
Applicant was a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a combined driver’s licence as detailed
in the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued by the Department of
Transport.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer also referred Members
to the North Yorkshire Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, explaining that to
grant this application would be departure from Policy which Members should only
do if they were satisfied that the Applicant had shown specific circumstances
to justify an exception to policy being made.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer reminded members
of paragraph 505 of the policy in particular, which
provides -
505.
Applicants and licensed drivers with nine or more penalty points endorsed on
their driving licence in any rolling three-year period will normally be refused
or revoked and will not normally be granted a licence until at least three
years have elapsed from the date of the last offence.
As the Applicant’s last offence took place on 26
September 2023, this means that under the Council’s policy, the earliest the
Applicant would normally be considered for a licence would be 26th September
2026.
In support of their application the Applicant
explained to the Sub-Committee that they have held a UK DVLA Driver’s Licence
since 1987, and that they have received endorsements on his licence in the past
occasionally, but that they have a clean licence prior to the first aforementioned speeding offence which took place in 2020 to
which they attended a speed awareness course in lieu of points. The Applicant
went on to explain the circumstances surrounding each conviction as outlined in
the report, including that they had attempted to appeal against the convictions
appearing on the DVLA check, but that this had been unsuccessful. Regarding the
most recent incident which comprised two offences, the Applicant explained that
because they pleaded guilty, the TS10 offence which would normally attract 3
points was reduced to 0 points, leaving the Applicant with 9 points on his
licence.
The Applicant informed the Sub-Committee that due
to their personal circumstances they are unable to continue in their current
field of work, and that taxi driving would be ideal alternative work due to its
flexibility.
In response to questions from Members, the
Applicant confirmed that should they be granted a licence, they would be
self-employed and would purchase their own car for taxi
purposes. They further confirmed that at the current time, due to personal
circumstances they have not been pursuing any alternative lines of work. When
questioned as to which specific circumstances the Sub-Committee should consider
as justification for any departure from policy, the Applicant reiterated their
current need for flexible work, given their personal and family circumstances
and their previous work history. The Applicant also confirmed to Members that
due to the most recent conviction being two offences, the matter proceeded
straight to court and they were unable to attend a
speed awareness course, however, had it been solely the speeding offence, they
would have been eligible to attend the course, and therefore points may not
have been added to their licence.
DECISION: After having considered the
content of the report, the verbal presentations by the Licensing Enforcement
Officer on behalf of the licensing authority, the verbal presentation by the
Applicant, 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, and taking into account all
relevant matters, the Licensing Sub-Committee
UNANIMOUSLY
DECIDED
That the Applicant is not a fit and proper person
within the meaning of sections 51 and 59 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1976 and consequently refused their application for a Hackney
Carriage and Private Hire Dual Driver’s Licence.
Whilst impressed by the Applicant’s honesty, transparency and the manner in which they responded to the
questions of the Sub-Committee, the Members concluded that the Applicant had
not shown to the Sub-Committee specific circumstances which would justify them
allowing an exception to policy to be made. Where an applicant has been convicted of an
offence, the licensing authority cannot review the merits of the conviction.
The policy which has been agreed by North Yorkshire Council, provides policy
and guidance for Members and Officers in the determination of applications for
taxi licences, and the Sub-Committee Members were not satisfied that the
Applicant had shown circumstances sufficiently strong enough for the Sub-Committee
Members to make a decision which departed from the
council’s policy; in this case that detailed in paragraph 505 of the policy.
For the reasons detailed above the Sub-Committee Members
were not satisfied the Applicant is a fit and proper person to hold a dual taxi
drivers’ licence and therefore their application for a licence was refused.
APPEALS INFORMATION:
There is a Right of
Appeal against this decision to the Magistrates’ court. This appeal must be commenced
within 21 days beginning with the date upon which a driver aggrieved by this
decision receives notification of the decision. A fee may be payable to the
Magistrates’ Court when submitting your appeal application. Appeals are to be
made to York Magistrates’ Court.