Issue - meetings

To determine a private hire/hackney carriage driver’s licence.

The Enforcement Officer gave a summary of the report. The Council had received an email from the General Manager at ACME who gave an update into their internal investigation into the driver. The driver had offered his resignation on 19 June and was placed on gardening leave until 19 July, when his employment was due to terminate. They took his private hire/hackney carriage driver’s badge and later returned it to the Council. This was due to number of allegations about him when he was a licensed driver.

The driver said allegations he had made a parent smell his arm were untrue. He had suggested they smell his arm to demonstrate that their child had left traces of a smell of urine on his arm. This was because the child had fallen asleep on his arm while he was driving.

In response to a Member question, the driver confirmed ACME had informed him that the parent had made a complaint about him, but he did not contact the parent after he had been told this.

In response to a Member question, the driver said he used to arrive between five and ten minutes before he was due to take the children to school, as had been suggested by his employer. He parked down the road and then used to drive up to the house when he was due to collect the children.

In response to a Member question, the driver confirmed the only safeguarding training he had completed was an e-learning course with the Sea Cadets.

The driver passed around a character reference from the Christian drop-in group he volunteered with, and a long service medal from the Sea Cadets.

The driver said he deeply regretted what had happened. He would not put himself in the same situation again.

At 1.00, the Committee retired to make its decision.

At 1.20, the Committee returned. The decision was read to the driver.

DECISION NOTICE –

The application before the Panel today is for the suspension or revocation of the driver’s  joint private hire/hackney carriage licence number PH/HC2949  under S61  (1) (b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.- any other reasonable cause. The licence is due to expire on 31^st July 2021 and the driver was first licenced by this authority on 23 August 2018. He formerly drove for ACME Transport Services but his employment was terminated by them on 19^th July 2019 and they returned his badge to the Council. He therefore is not driving at this present moment.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report in this case, a copy of which has been served on the driver. The bundle incorporates correspondence received from a parent and from Powers Hall School. The story begins with an email received from ACME Transport Services on 28^th June who as his employer were investigating a number of allegations made by the parents of children being driven by him to and from school. Briefly, the driver would allegedly talk about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3

To determine a private hire/hackney carriage driver’s licence.

This item had been deferred at the request of the applicant until the meeting on 30 September.