Issue - meetings

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

The Chair brought Item 5 forward in the proceedings.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of the report which noted that the applicant had failed to declare a conviction for using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intention to cause fear or provocation of violence. He therefore did not meet the Council’s suitability policy for new drivers. The applicant had apologised and said it was not his intention to deceive.

In response to a Member question, the applicant said he had no explanation for why he had not recorded his conviction.

At 12.05, the Panel retired to make its decision.

At 12.30, 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 30^th September 2019 confirming a conviction dated 28^th September 2009 for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intent to cause fear of violence under the Public Order Act 1986.  He also declared a 2018 motoring offence for which his licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

Whilst this conviction is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 this legislation does not apply to proceedings before this Committee and the applicant does not meet the Council’s suitability policy for new drivers which states at 2.3 “Any dishonesty by an applicant or other person on the applicant’s behalf which is discovered to have occurred in any part of any application process (e.g. failure to declare convictions, false names or addresses, falsified references) will result in a licence being refused, or if already granted, revoked an may result in prosecution”.

On 10 October the applicant was interviewed by officers and was asked why he had failed to declare the conviction. He responded by apologising and saying that it was not his intention to deceive. He also explained that he has had previous DBS checks, has a current one for the job that he does now, and another when he applied for the hackney carriage licence he holds with Forest Heath Council. The fact another licencing authority has seen fit to grant him a licence is in no way binding upon us: each and every authority may make its own decision on the basis of its local policies.

He  was then asked to provide some details about his conviction. In a subsequent  e-mail dated 4 November (a copy of which, as are the notes of the earlier discussion, is before us) he explained that he had been taking one of his staff home (from the pub where he was the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4