Issue - meetings

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

The Licensing Support Officer gave a summary of the report.

The applicant had applied to the Council for a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s licence on 27July 2020 to work for 24/7 Ltd on their contracts.

On the application form the applicant had not declared any convictions.  The enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate showed one conviction.

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

The applicant apologised and said that 24/7 had filled in the application on her behalf and had sent in the wrong form.

In response to Members’ questions she confirmed that due to current restrictions the form had been filled in over the phone.  She has been a passenger assistant for 4 years in Central Bedfordshire.  The conviction was 4 years ago and related to her son’s attendance at school.  The applicant confirmed that she had not been told where she would be driving for 24/7 but said she thought they had a contract in Bedfordshire.

The importance of applicants filling out their own applications was discussed.  This and previous mistakes had been caused by 24 x 7 Ltd completing the application on behalf of the applicant.  The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer explained that the application process was due to become an online system and this would hopefully alleviate the problem.  Members discussed and the Chair agreed to send another letter to 24 x 7 Ltd.

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 11:40 and the Committee retired to make its decision.

DECISION NOTICE –

The application before the Panel today is for the grant of a new joint hackney carriage/PHV driver’s licence to the applicant. We are hearing this case remotely. If her application is successful she has an offer of employment from 24 x 7 Ltd on the school contracts 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 she, the background documents annexed thereto including the application form and the DBS documentation supporting the application. Additional information has been supplied by 24 x 7 Ltd, accepting some responsibility for what has happened. We have also taken into account national and the Council’s policy and have heard from the Case Officer and from the applicant.

On her application form, in answer to question 6 ‘Do you have any unspent convictions?’

The applicant declared she had none.

Part of the application process requires applicants to produce an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate and the applicant’s certificate dated 28 July 2020 shows 1 conviction as follows:

Conviction 1 – Offence – Knowingly failed to cause regular attendance at school of a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4