Issue - meetings

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

The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of the report.

The applicant had applied to the Council for a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s licence on 30 March 2020 to work for Airports Direct on their contracts.

On the application form the applicant had not declared any convictions.  The enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate showed two cautions. The applicant took part in an informal telephone interview with the Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer and when asked why these had not been stated in his application, the applicant said that they were cautions with no further action and he had not realised that they needed to be declared.

The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer said the delay in bringing the application before the Panel was due to the lockdown period and the applicant not returning all the relevant documentation.

The applicant now came before members for them to determine whether he was a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence as he had not met the Council’s licensing standards.

The applicant said that because they were cautions and not convictions he had not realised they had to be declared, he had read the application form incorrectly.  The applicant said that he knew they would show up on the enhanced DBS and was not trying to be dishonest.

In response to Members’ questions he confirmed that he was in full time employment with Harlow District Council.  At the time of the cautions he had been going through a divorce and dealing with bereavement.  The Interim Legal Services Manager said that a basic DBS would no longer show the cautions, however they would always remain on the enhanced DBS.  The applicant stated that he had an all access pass for Stansted Airport and the basic DBS was carried out and nothing showed up.

The Chair explained that the Panel would retire to consider the case and would notify the applicant of their decision within 5 working days.

The applicant left the meeting at 11.20 and the Committee retired to make its decision.

DECISION NOTICE

The application before the Panel is to grant a new joint hackney carriage/PHV driver’s licence to the applicant. We are hearing the case remotely. If his application is successful he has an offer of employment from Airports Direct.

We 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 the application form and the DBS documentation supporting the application. We have also taken into account the Council’s policy and have heard from the Case Officer and from the applicant.

On his application form, in answer to question 12 ‘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 applicant declared that he had none.

However, the application process required applicants to produce an enhanced Disclosure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3