Issue - meetings

To determine a review of a Private Hire & Hackney Carriage Driver Licence.

The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of his report which requested that members determine a review of the applicant’s Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Licence.

The driver addressed the Panel, explaining that it was their first permanent route as a Home to School Transport (HTST) driver and that they had not been briefed by the operator regarding the child’s condition beforehand. They admitted to playing the radio softly on one occasion, but they had not done this with any intention of hurting the child.

The driver said that much of the complaint against them was false, including the suggestion that they had pressured the complainant not to contact the Council. They emphasised that they were a nice person and would never have hurt the child on purpose.

In response to questions from the Panel, the driver clarified the following:

·         The Passenger Assistant (PA) in the back seat had said that they could not hear the radio and was willing to back the driver up on this.

·         Both the driver and PA had done everything they could to help the child and they believed they had a good relationship with the family.

·         The complaint had only been submitted to the Council after the driver had made the decision to request a change of route.

·         The complainant had not spoken to the driver in-person before about the child’s condition.

·         The driver had been driving the child since March; however, they were frequently absent from school, so they had not spent much time with them overall.

·         On the day of the incident, the child had told the driver and PA not to speak so she had put the radio on her side of the car very softly and didn’t think that it would impact the child. They accepted that they had overwritten a condition not to play music.

The Solicitor drew the Panel’s attention to the email from a parent on the driver’s current route which was written in support of them retaining their licence.  

To conclude, the driver said that they did not believe that they were a risk to public and apologised again for the mistake which they had made. They stated that in future they would always check first before doing anything that they are unsure about.

The meeting adjourned between 10:30 – 11:03 for the Panel to deliberate.

DECISION NOTICE:

The application before the Panel today is for the review of Ms Larking’s joint hackney carriage/PHV driver’s licence. She is employed by 24 x 7 Ltd on the Home to School Transport (HtST) side of the business and this hearing is being conducted upon a hybrid basis. The Panel, the Case Officer and the Legal Advisor are in the Council Chamber at London Road, Saffron Walden and other participants, including Ms Larking, are attending via Zoom.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report in this case, a copy of which has been served on Ms Larking, and we have also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16