Issue - meetings

To determine a private hire/hackney carriage driver's application.

The Chair moved Item 7 forward in the proceedings.

The Enforcement Officer gave a summary of the report, which noted the applicant had made a false statement on his application form. He therefore did not meet the Council’s suitability criteria for new drivers. The applicant had attended an interview where he explained that his failure to answer a question correctlywas a genuine mistake and this was because he was in a genuine rush and had his medical to do that day.

Members noted that the answers to questions 10 and 12 on the application form were pre-filled by 24/7 Ltd, and it was incumbent upon applicants to cross ‘no’ out and answer differently if this statement was incorrect.

The applicant said the application day run by 2/7 had been a rush and he had had to leave to do his medical without properly completing the form.

At 10.55, the Panel retired to make its decision.

At 11.15, the Panel returned. The decision was read to the applicant.

DECISION NOTICE –

The application before the Panel today is the applicant’s application for a joint hackney carriage/PHV driver’s licence.  If successful, he has an offer of employment from 24 x 7 Ltd on the school contract side of the business.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report in this case, a copy of which has been served on the applicant, and we have also seen, as has he, the background documents annexed thereto, including an enhanced DBS Certificate dated 19th August 2019 showing three convictions. The two later ones are related and together they amount to a course of conduct giving us cause for serious concerns.

Conviction 1 on 29 April 1981 was for an offence of theft by an employee where the applicant was fined £150 and made to pay compensation of £22 and costs of £7.

Conviction 2 dated 12 November 1999 was for an offence of driving with excess alcohol where he was fined £300, ordered to pay costs of £55 and disqualified from driving for 36 months which was reduced to 27 months after completing an appropriate course. However, conviction 3 on 10 November 2000 was for an offence of driving whilst disqualified.   An appeal was dismissed and the applicant was imprisoned for 8 weeks, disqualified from driving for a further year and ordered to pay costs of £500.

However, we note the following responses to questions on the applicant’s application form:

Question 10 asks ‘have you ever been disqualified from driving or had your licence revoked?’   The answer given here was ‘no.’

Question 12 asks ‘have you ever been convicted of any offence (including motoring offences) including spent and unspent convictions in any Court or received a police caution?’   The answer given was ‘no’ however, two offences of ‘D/D’ and ‘Traffic lights’ were given to this question with no further answers.

In the light of the discrepancy between these answers and the information on his DBS records, the application was invited to attend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2